A sharp decline in lesbian, gay or bisexual identification among younger U.S. teenagers is concentrated among girls, according to an analysis of newly released federal survey data.
Jean Twenge, a psychology professor at San Diego State University, analyzed results from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, a biennial survey of students in grades nine through 12. Her analysis found that the share of ninth-graders identifying as LGB fell from 17% in 2023 to 11% in 2025.
The change was largest among ninth-grade girls, whose LGB identification declined from 30% in 2021 to 17% in 2025, Twenge reported in Generation Tech. The proportion identifying as bisexual fell from 26% to 13% during the same period. Among all high school girls, LGB identification declined from 27% in 2023 to 22% in 2025, while the figure for boys fell from 9% to 7%.
The decline was less pronounced among older students. Twenge reported that LGB identification among 12th-graders dropped from 18% in 2023 to 16% in 2025. She said the pattern suggested a possible cohort effect, with the largest changes occurring among students aged 14 to 16 rather than among older teenagers.
The CDC questionnaire asks students to identify as heterosexual, gay or lesbian, bisexual, to describe their identity another way, or to say they are unsure. The agency’s 2025 data users guide says sexual identity was included in the core questionnaire used by participating states and local school districts as well as in the national survey.
Twenge cautioned that the data do not establish why the decline occurred or whether it will continue. She noted that the shift could represent the beginning of a generational change or could prove temporary, writing that she had “no idea” what specifically affected ninth-grade girls. The YRBS also asks about students’ sexual behavior, but those results apply only to the smaller group who reported being sexually active.