How laws and support affect mental health of LGBTQ adolescents and young adults
Official title: Supportive and restrictive factors and mental health in LGBT adolescent and young adult populations
Funded at Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. · NIH-11392817 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project looks at how recent laws and levels of community support affect the mental health of LGBTQ teens and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | NIH-funded research |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC. NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Canton, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | August 26, 2024 |
| Project end | September 16, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $711,115 |
| NIH project number | 4R33HD117134-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11392817 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are LGBTQ adolescents and young adults roughly ages 12–20 who can report on their mental health and experiences with supportive or discriminatory policies.
✕Less likely to help
People outside the target age range or those seeking immediate clinical care should not expect direct treatment benefits from this research.
What this research studies
If I take part or share data, researchers will gather information about my mental health and my experiences with support or discrimination. They will link surveys of young LGBTQ people with records of state bills and large national surveys (like the BRFSS) to map how policy environments change over time. The team focuses on late adolescence and early adulthood, when mental-health problems often begin and care patterns form. Their approach combines personal reports and public-policy data to identify which contexts help or harm young LGBTQ people's well‑being.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could guide policies and programs to reduce mental-health harms and improve supports for LGBTQ youth.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies have linked discriminatory laws to worse mental health in LGBTQ people, but this grant's focus on the recent surge of bills and on adolescents and young adults is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
Canton, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Charlton, Brittany Michelle — Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, INC.
- Study coordinator: Charlton, Brittany Michelle
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.