Kim Petras Says She Was 'Suicidal as a Kid' Over Trans Identity and Parents' Support Kept Her Alive (Exclusive)

Editor's Note: This story contains mentions of suicidal ideation and contemplation.

Supporting young people's LGBTQIA+ identities can be a matter of life or death.

In a new interview with Out Magazine, Kim Petras says she thanked her mom upon winning her first Grammy Award because she and her father affirmed her transgender identity as a child and saved her from taking her own life.

"I literally was very suicidal as a kid, and I just wouldn't still be here had my parents not believed me," the pop star, 30, told the outlet in its latest cover story, shared exclusively with PEOPLE. "So, I was like, 'OK, first thing, I'm going to thank the person who's responsible for me being alive.'"

At the 2023 Grammy Awards in February, Petras became the first transgender woman to win in the best pop group/duo performance category alongside Sam Smith for their collaboration "Unholy."

The German singer-songwriter thanked her mother alongside artists including Madonna and the late Sophie, who died at age 34 in 2021, as well as "all the transgender artists who kicked the door open in order for me to be here tonight."

Elsewhere in her Out interview, Petras spoke out against rampant transphobia in today's society. "I hate that another generation is going through this, and I hate that young kids are going through the same s--- I was going through, and that apparently just isn't changing," she said.

The Human Rights Campaign reported that "at least 34 transgender and gender non-conforming people" were killed in the United States throughout 2022. Additionally, the American Civil Liberties Union is tracking a record number of 471 bills targeting LGBTQIA+ rights introduced during the 2023 legislative session.

"I think it's sad," added the "Alone" performer, who made headlines when she underwent gender-confirmation surgery at age 16 in 2008 with full support from both her parents. "I just never understood why people were so obsessed with what people do to be happy. Just focus on what you can do to be happy."

According to a study conducted last year, the vast majority of transgender children who socially transition between the ages of 3 and 12 years old will remain that gender.

Socially transitioning is often the first step for transgender people, and means that they have adopted a name, pronouns and a general appearance that matches their gender identity.

In the study of more than 300 transgender kids who socially transitioned between the ages of 3 to 12 years old, researchers found that just 7.3% chose to retransition — meaning they returned to identifying with the sex they were assigned at birth or to a different gender identity — in the next five years.

Of those who retransitioned, the majority — 3.5% — did not return to their assigned sex, instead identifying as nonbinary. Most kids — 92.7% — were consistent in their social transition.

"These results suggest that retransitions are infrequent," the researchers, from Princeton University, the University of Washington and Canada's University of Victoria, wrote. "More commonly, transgender youth who socially transitioned at early ages continued to identify that way."

RELATED VIDEO: Kim Petras Becomes First Trans Woman to Win Best Pop Duo/Group Performance Grammy with Sam Smith

In a November 2022 interview with PEOPLE, Petras spoke about making her recent project Slut Pop as a tribute to the community that's supported her since long before she was even nominated for a Grammy Award.

"Slut Pop is for my core fans. I was a club kid at the beginning of my career; I will always be a club kid. I think as a part of that community — as someone who's always at gay bars, who's always found felt only accepted in gay clubs and gay bars — that was my goal with Slut Pop, for it to play there and to live there," she said at the time.

If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988, text "STRENGTH" to the Crisis Text Line at 741741 or go to 988lifeline.org.