Abstract / Summary
Introduction: Since the 2024 U.S. Presidential election, the rights of sexual and gender minority (SGM) people have been at risk. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to describe SGM people’s thoughts, plans, and decisions to move following the election and to examine whether these thoughts, plans, and decisions differed by participants’ sociodemographic characteristics and mental health symptoms.
Methods: Participants completed an online survey between November 5, 2024 and September 20, 2025 for The PRIDE Study, a national, prospective, community-engaged cohort study of SGM adults. Participants responded to closed-ended questions about their: thoughts, plans, and decisions to move; sociodemographic characteristics; and mental health (anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder) symptoms. Participants responded to open-ended questions about their moving destinations and moving reasons.
Results: The sample included 3,301 participants (48.1% identified as transgender or nonbinary [TNB]). Most participants (85%) thought about, planned to, or decided to move to another state or country. Moving considerations differed by participants’ sociodemographics (e.g., participants with moving thoughts, plans, and decisions were more likely to be TNB than cisgender, ps<.05) and mental health symptoms (e.g., participants with moving thoughts, plans, and decisions had more symptoms than those with no moving thoughts, ps<.05). Participants’ reasons for moving included the increasingly hostile and anti-SGM sociopolitical conditions in their states and the country. Conclusions and Policy Implications: Following the 2024 election, many SGM U.S. adults made plans to or decided to move due to the changing policy environment. Psychological distress from anti-SGM policies may be driving individuals to move.