1. What Is the HBSC 2025 Study?

The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study is an international research project examining the health, wellbeing and social environment of school-aged children.

In the Netherlands, the HBSC study has been carried out every four years since 2001. The Dutch research is conducted by Utrecht University and the Trimbos Institute.

The 2025 Dutch HBSC study is a nationally representative study of students in group 8 of primary school and regular secondary education, aged 11 to 16.

The research examines developments in areas including:

• mental health
• school experiences
• social relationships
• sexual health
• substance use
• digital media
• physical activity
• nutrition

The researchers also examine differences by characteristics including age, sex, migration background, school level, family structure and family prosperity.

The findings on attitudes toward homosexuality are therefore one part of a much broader study of young people’s health and wellbeing.

2. The Main Finding on Homosexuality

The latest HBSC findings show a substantial decline in the proportion of secondary-school students with a positive attitude toward homosexuality between 2021 and 2025.

The decline occurred among both boys and girls.

Girls continued to report more positive attitudes than boys in 2025, but the percentage fell substantially among both groups.

The researchers describe the 2025 result as a break from the earlier trend in attitudes toward homosexuality among Dutch school students.

3. Boys: 40% to 22%

Among boys in Dutch secondary education, the share showing a positive attitude toward homosexuality fell from 40% in 2021 to 22% in 2025.

That is an 18-percentage-point decline over four years.

The 2021 figure was already considerably lower than the figure for girls. By 2025, fewer than one in four boys in the secondary-school population covered by the measure had a positive attitude toward homosexuality.

The researchers highlighted this change as part of the wider shift recorded between 2021 and 2025.

4. Girls: 78% to 51%

Among girls in secondary education, the percentage with a positive attitude toward homosexuality fell from 78% in 2021 to 51% in 2025.

That is a decline of 27 percentage points.

Girls remained more positive toward homosexuality than boys in 2025, but the percentage fell sharply compared with the previous HBSC measurement.

5. Can LGBTQ+ Students Be Open at School?

The HBSC study also asked students whether a student who was gay or lesbian could openly talk about their sexual orientation at school.

The percentage answering positively to this question fell from 60% in 2021 to 45% in 2025.

This figure measures students’ perception of whether a gay or lesbian student could talk openly about their sexual orientation at school.

It is not a direct measurement of how many LGBTQ+ students actually come out or disclose their sexual orientation at school.

It also does not mean that every school has the same level of acceptance or openness.

6. A Change From Earlier Trends

The 2025 results differ from the pattern recorded in earlier HBSC measurements.

The 2021 HBSC report showed that positive attitudes toward homosexuality among secondary-school students had increased substantially between 2009 and 2013 and then remained relatively stable through 2021.

The overall percentage with a positive attitude was 34% in 2009, 54.4% in 2013, 55.5% in 2017 and 57.8% in 2021.

The 2025 results therefore represent a clear change compared with the previous measurement period.

Among boys, the earlier trend had already been different from that of girls. The 2021 HBSC report found that boys’ positive attitudes had remained relatively stable after 2013, while girls had become more positive between 2017 and 2021.

7. How the Study Compares Different Groups

The Dutch HBSC study examines differences in young people’s health and wellbeing according to several background characteristics.

These include:

• age
• sex
• migration background
• school level
• family structure
• family prosperity

These characteristics are used throughout the report to examine differences between groups.

The published findings on homosexuality should therefore be understood within the study population and its defined subgroups rather than being automatically extended to every young person in the Netherlands.

8. Other Findings About School Life

The change in attitudes toward homosexuality was reported alongside other developments in how young people experience school.

The Trimbos Institute says that students in secondary education increasingly find school less enjoyable. Researchers also report less positive views of the atmosphere between classmates and more reports of bullying between 2017 and 2025.

At the same time, the pressure young people experience from schoolwork remained high in 2025. More than half of girls and more than one third of boys in secondary education reported substantial pressure from schoolwork.

These findings are part of the wider HBSC study and do not by themselves establish a relationship between school experiences and attitudes toward homosexuality.

9. What Do Researchers Say About Possible Causes?

The researchers have discussed possible explanations for the decline, but the study does not establish a single cause.

HBSC lead researcher Gonneke Stevens said the decline did not come unexpectedly and pointed to changes in the wider public discussion around sexual diversity.

She also referred to young people’s exposure to more negative or conservative views about sexual diversity through public debate and social media.

In an interview with NOS, Stevens said that sexual diversity had increasingly become a subject of controversy in public discussions and that young people had been exposed to these views more often.

The researchers nevertheless emphasise that more research is needed to establish a causal relationship between those developments and the decline in positive attitudes.

The HBSC study documents the change between 2021 and 2025. It does not prove that one specific political, social or digital development caused the change.

10. What the Study Does and Does Not Show

The HBSC study provides repeated measurements over time, making it possible to compare the 2025 results with previous measurement years.

What the study shows

• Attitudes toward homosexuality were measured in 2025
• The results can be compared with previous HBSC measurements
• Positive attitudes declined between 2021 and 2025
• The decline occurred among both boys and girls
• The perceived ability of gay or lesbian students to speak openly at school also declined

What the study does not show

• It does not measure every young person living in the Netherlands
• It does not provide an individual probability of experiencing discrimination
• It does not establish one single cause for the decline
• It does not show that every Dutch school has the same level of acceptance
• It does not describe every LGBTQ+ person’s experience in the Netherlands

The study is designed to monitor trends among Dutch school-aged young people and to examine differences between groups within the research population.

11. The Findings in Context

The latest findings add a new measurement point to a series of Dutch HBSC studies conducted since 2001.

For attitudes toward homosexuality, the earlier measurements showed a substantial increase between 2009 and 2013, followed by relative stability through 2021.

The 2025 findings show a substantial decline compared with 2021, making the new results notably different from the pattern recorded in earlier measurements.

The next HBSC measurement will provide another comparison point and will help show whether the 2025 result continues into a later period.

For now, the available data provide a direct comparison between 2021 and 2025.

12. Key Figures at a Glance

These figures refer to the student population covered by the HBSC measurements and should not be interpreted as percentages of the entire Dutch population.

13. Dutch Youth Attitudes to Homosexuality 2026 FAQ

What is the Dutch Youth Attitudes to Homosexuality 2026 story about?

The story covers new HBSC 2025 findings showing a sharp decline in positive attitudes toward homosexuality among Dutch secondary-school students compared with 2021.

What percentage of Dutch boys had a positive attitude toward homosexuality in 2025?

The percentage was 22%, compared with 40% in 2021.

What percentage of Dutch girls had a positive attitude toward homosexuality in 2025?

The percentage was 51%, compared with 78% in 2021.

How much did attitudes among boys change?

The share fell by 18 percentage points, from 40% to 22%.

How much did attitudes among girls change?

The share fell by 27 percentage points, from 78% to 51%.

What happened to students’ views about being open at school?

The percentage of students who believed a gay or lesbian student could openly talk about their sexual orientation at school fell from 60% in 2021 to 45% in 2025.

Is the study about all Dutch young people?

No. The Dutch HBSC study is a nationally representative study of students in group 8 of primary school and regular secondary education, aged 11 to 16.

What did earlier HBSC studies show?

The 2021 HBSC report found that positive attitudes toward homosexuality increased strongly between 2009 and 2013 and then remained relatively stable through 2021.

Did the researchers identify one cause for the decline?

No single cause has been established. Lead researcher Gonneke Stevens discussed changes in the public debate around sexual diversity and young people’s exposure to different views, while also stating that more research is needed to establish causation.

Did the decline occur among both boys and girls?

Yes. The percentage declined among both groups.

Does the study prove that Dutch schools have become less safe for LGBTQ+ students?

No. It found that fewer students believed a gay or lesbian student could openly discuss their sexual orientation at school. It does not provide a direct measurement of every school’s safety or every LGBTQ+ student’s experience.

When was the HBSC 2025 report published?

The Dutch HBSC 2025 report was published on 21 September 2026.

Who conducted the Dutch HBSC study?

The Dutch HBSC research was conducted by Utrecht University and the Trimbos Institute.