Researchers are examining a reported fall in lesbian, gay and bisexual identification among younger US teenagers, particularly ninth-grade girls. The 2025 Youth Risk Behaviour Survey offers important data, but it doesn't explain why the figures changed, making context, question wording and age differences crucial for understanding this sensitive trend.

Essential takeaways

  • The biggest shift: Ninth-grade girls showed the sharpest reported fall in LGB identification.
  • The figures need context: Survey results describe self-reported identity, not a fixed measure of attraction or behaviour.
  • Behaviour also changed: The CDC separately tracks sexual activity, partners and other risk-related behaviours.
  • The cause remains uncertain: Possible influences include social media, the pandemic and wider cultural changes.
  • Comparisons matter: Results can vary by age, year, question design and who took part.

A striking change among younger girls

The headline finding is the gap among ninth-grade girls. Analysis of the 2025 CDC survey reported that 17% identified as lesbian or bisexual in 2025, compared with 30% in 2021. The proportion identifying specifically as bisexual fell from 26% to 13% over the same period.

That is a sizeable movement, but it shouldn't be treated as a simple verdict on how teenagers feel. The CDC's Youth Risk Behaviour Survey is a snapshot of students' reported experiences and identities at a particular moment. It can reveal patterns, yet it can't by itself explain what caused them.

Age appears to matter, too. The change was less pronounced among older pupils, suggesting that adolescence and the timing of self-description may be important when interpreting the numbers. A teenager's answer at 14 may not carry the same meaning as an answer at 17, even when the survey wording is identical.

Why survey wording and timing matter

Identity, attraction and behaviour overlap, but they're not interchangeable. Someone may identify as bisexual without having had a same-sex partner, while another person may report an experience without adopting an LGB label. The CDC publishes separate measures for sexual identity, orientation and behaviour for precisely this reason.

That distinction is easy to lose in a fast-moving debate. According to the CDC's 2025 survey materials, the YRBS covers a range of health behaviours and experiences among high-school students, rather than measuring one single aspect of sexuality. In other words, the results need to be read as several related indicators, not one tidy cultural scoreboard.

There is also the question of participation. Survey findings can be affected by response rates, the pupils included, changes in school populations and how comfortable respondents feel answering personal questions. Those details aren't footnotes; they're part of the story.

Behavioural data adds another layer

The reported fall in identity coincided with a decline in some related responses about sexual behaviour. Ninth-grade girls who said they were sexually active were also less likely to report at least one same-sex sexual partner than in earlier survey years.

Still, that doesn't prove that identity and behaviour moved for the same reason. The CDC's sexual-activity and sexual-behaviour datasets are designed to capture different experiences, including whether students had sex and whether they reported particular types of partners. Each measure deserves its own interpretation.

For parents and educators, the practical lesson is straightforward. Avoid assuming that a label, a relationship history or a single survey answer tells the whole story. Young people benefit more from calm, non-judgemental conversations about wellbeing, consent, safety and belonging than from being placed in a statistical box.

Possible explanations are still being tested

Researchers have suggested several possible influences, including the after-effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, shifts in the political climate and changing social-media habits. These are plausible areas for investigation, but the survey doesn't establish a direct cause-and-effect link.

The timing is tempting to interpret. When figures rise, commentators often attribute the change to greater visibility or acceptance. When they fall, others point to policy or cultural backlash. Both responses can move faster than the evidence, particularly when the data covers a complicated period for teenagers.

A sensible reading is therefore cautious rather than dismissive. The results may reflect a genuine change in how some younger teenagers describe themselves, a change in behaviour, a change in willingness to use particular labels, or a mixture of all three.

What the figures may mean next

Further waves of the survey should show whether the 2025 pattern continues. One year can be notable, but a longer run of results is much more useful for identifying a durable generational shift.

The CDC's public data resources make it possible to compare sexual identity, sexual activity and sexual behaviour rather than relying on a single headline figure. That's valuable in a debate where the most dramatic percentage can easily overshadow the underlying limitations.

For now, the most responsible conclusion is also the least sensational: younger teenagers' reported answers appear to have changed, especially among ninth-grade girls, but the reasons remain open. The numbers deserve attention, not overconfidence.

Read the figures as a starting point, not the final word.

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