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# Study finds black LGBTQ+ community face health barriers
- URL: https://www.scenemag.co.uk/study-finds-black-lgbtq-community-face-health-barriers/
- Published: 2021-01-25T10:10:54.000Z
- Updated: 2021-01-25T08:55:15.000Z
- Description: A new report from The Williams Institute has found black, LGBTQ+ identifying adults face higher rates of health disparities compared to their non-LGBTQ+ black peers
- Author: Rachel Badham
- Tags: Health, Mental Health, News, Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ, LGBTQ Healthcare, The Williams Institute, US

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/lgbt-black-pride-1.jpg)

A new [report](https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/publications/black-lgbt-adults-in-the-us/?ref=scenemag.co.uk) from **The Williams Institute** at the **University of California, Los Angeles**, has found black, LGBTQ+ identifying adults face higher rates of health disparities compared to their non-LGBTQ+ black peers. According to the report, 1.2 mil of the 11.3 Americans who identify as LGBTQ+ are black. It found the black LGBTQ+ community experienced high rates of depression, with 26% being clinically diagnosed with the mental health condition, compared to only 15% of non-LGBTQ+ black people. Black queer women were found to be the most susceptible to depression, and were more likely to not have health insurance.

The study also found black LGBTQ+ adults were more likely to engage in high-risk health behaviours such as smoking and heavy drinking compared to non-LGBTQ+ people. As well as health barriers, the study also examined overall rates of discrimination, finding 82% of black LGBTQ+ respondents faced intolerance regularly. LGBTQ+ black adults were more likely to experience economic insecurity, or live in a low income household. Nearly all black participants, regardless of sexuality or gender identity, reported experiencing frequent discrimination.

![](https://www.scenemag.co.uk/content/images/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/uganda-lgbt-1.jpg)

The study suggested the stigma surrounding mental health may worsen the challenges of black LGBTQ+ adults whose *“symptoms* \[of mental illness\] *may be further exacerbated and at times caused by structural forces such as racism, ethnocentrism, and poverty.”* It concluded that black LGBTQ+ people *“may be more in need of policy and services interventions, particularly related to improving conditions for economic stability, safety from violence, and mental health.”*