Hormone Therapy, Suicidal Risk, and Transgender Youth in the U.S.

Campbell, Travis; Mann, Samuel; Nguyen, Duc Hien; Rodgers, Yana van der Meulen

doi:10.2139/ssrn.4277148

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Gender minority stress arises through both external factors, such as experiences of violence and rejection, and internal factors, such as expectations of rejection and identity concealment. Medical procedures that reduce gender dysphoria and achieve gender congruence, as well as interventions that reduce stigma and associated gender minority stress, are associated with improvements in mental health among gender minority adults . Antitransgender legislation is associated with worsening mental health outcomes among gender minority individuals, which is of particular note given the recent rise in antitransgender legislation, including bills that establish criminal charges for providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth (eg, Oklahoma SB 129 and Wyoming SF0111).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mental Health of Transgender Youth Following Gender Identity Milestones by Level of Family Support

Campbell,

Mann,

Rodgers

et al. 2024

JAMA Pediatr

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ImportanceTransgender youth are at an elevated risk for adverse mental health outcomes compared with their cisgender peers. Identifying opportunities for intervention is a priority.ObjectiveTo estimate differences in the association between gender identity milestones and mental health outcomes among transgender youth, stratified by level of family support.Design, Settings, and ParticipantsThis retrospective cohort study compares changes in mental health outcomes among transgender youth who initiate gender identity milestones compared with those who initiate the same milestones 1 year later, stratified by level of family support, using the 2015 US Transgender Survey. The analytic samples included 18 303 transgender adults aged 18 and older who had initiated at least 1 gender identity milestone between ages 4 and 18 years.ExposureFour gender identity milestones: feeling one’s gender was different, thinking of oneself as transgender, telling another that one is transgender, and living full-time in one’s gender identity, stratified by 3 levels of family support: supportive, neutral, and adverse.Main OutcomesAge at first suicide attempt and at running away.ResultsStudy participants included 18 303 transgender adults (10 288 [56.2%] assigned female at birth; 14 777 [80.7%] White). Initiating a gender identity milestone was associated with a higher risk of suicide attempt and running away from home among transgender youth. This finding was driven by children who live in unsupportive families. For example, thinking of oneself as transgender was associated with a meaningful increase in the overall probability of attempting suicide among those in either adverse families (estimate = 1.75 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.47-3.03) or neutral families (estimate = 1.39 percentage points; 95% CI, 0.72-2.05). Among youth living with supportive families, there were no statistically significant associations between gender identity milestones and adverse mental health outcomes and 95% CIs generally ruled out any meaningful associations.ConclusionThese results demonstrate that without a supportive family environment, gender identity development increases the risk of transgender youth attempting suicide or running away from home. Social services and community resources to establish supportive relationships between transgender children and their parents are essential.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%