CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey data analyzed by SDSU psychology professor Jean Twenge shows 9th-grade girls identifying as lesbian or bisexual fell from 30% in 2021 to 17% in 2025. Williams Institute scholar Jody Herman cautioned the data lacks confidence intervals. Conservatives interpreted the data as validation of social contagion theory, while LGBTQ+ advocates questioned CDC data reliability under the Trump administration.
Claims
- ▪CDC data on declining teen LGB identification validates concerns about social factors influencing youth sexuality
- ▪The decline was most pronounced among younger teens, with 12th graders showing only a 2-point drop
- ▪CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey data was analyzed by SDSU psychology professor Jean Twenge
- ▪Bisexual identification among 9th-grade girls fell from 26% to 13% between 2021 and 2025
- ▪The decline in teen lesbian and bisexual identification reflects a real shift in youth sexual orientation rather than a survey artifact
- ▪9th-grade girls identifying as lesbian or bisexual dropped from 30% in 2021 to 17% in 2025
- ▪Williams Institute scholar Jody Herman said the study lacks confidence intervals
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