Original articlePsychological Functioning in Transgender Adolescents Before and After Gender-Affirmative Care Compared With Cisgender General Population Peers
Section snippets
Participants and procedure
The samples in this study consisted of consecutive referrals to the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria of the VU University Medical Center (VUmc) in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, between 2012 and 2015, and a control group of cisgender adolescents recruited in 2015 in the general population. During this period, 504 adolescents were seen in our gender identity service. Fifty-three participants did not complete the assessment process and did, therefore, not participate in this study. The reason
Mean scores for internalizing, externalizing, suicidality, and peer relations
Table 2 shows the mean scores for internalizing, externalizing, suicidality, and peer relations per sample. On average, the scores of the transgender adolescents who have just been referred on internalizing, suicidality, and peer relations were higher than the scores of the transgender adolescents using puberty suppression and the cisgender comparison group, respectively. A multivariate GLM analysis with group as a fixed factor and the internalizing, externalizing, suicidality, and poor peer
Discussion
Our study revealed that adolescents referred for gender-affirmative care have increased behavioral and emotional problems, especially internalizing problems, reported increased self-harm/suicidality, and poorer peer relations compared with cisgender adolescents from the general population. This finding, including the clinical range percentage for internalizing problems, is in line with the current literature that in general, transgender adolescents are at risk for mental health problems [[3],
Acknowledgments
None.
References (30)
- et al.
Evidence for an altered sex ratio in clinic-referred adolescents with gender dysphoria
J Sex Med
(2015) - et al.
The mental health of transgender youth: Advances in understanding
J Adolesc Health
(2016) - et al.
Clinical management of youth with gender dysphoria in Vancouver
J Pediatr
(2014) - et al.
Baseline physiologic and psychosocial characteristics of transgender youth seeking care for gender dysphoria
J Adolesc Health
(2015) - et al.
Treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria in the Netherlands
Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am
(2011) - et al.
Adolescents with gender dysphoria
Best Pract Res Clin Endocrinol Metab
(2015) - et al.
Puberty suppression in adolescents with gender identity disorder: A prospective follow-up study
J Sex Med
(2011) - et al.
Psychological support, puberty suppression, and psychosocial functioning in adolescents with gender dysphoria
J Sex Med
(2015) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
(2013)- et al.
Psychiatric comorbidity in gender dysphoric adolescents
J Child Psychol Psychiatry
(2011)
Young people with features of gender dysphoria: Demographics and associated difficulties
Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry
Children and adolescents with gender identity disorder referred to a pediatric medical center
Pediatrics
Mental health disorders, psychological distress, and suicidality in a diverse sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender youth
Am J Public Health
Manual for the child behavior checklist and revised child behavior profile
Manual for the youth self-report and 1991 profile
Cited by (86)
Current support methods for transidentites, a medical perspective
2024, Sages-FemmesAdolescent neurocognitive development and decision-making abilities regarding gender-affirming care
2024, Developmental Cognitive NeuroscienceChanges in Gender Dysphoria, Interpersonal Minority Stress, and Mental Health Among Transgender Youth After One Year of Hormone Therapy
2024, Journal of Adolescent HealthAdolescent Providers' Experiences of Harassment Related to Delivering Gender-Affirming Care
2023, Journal of Adolescent HealthAssessment of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adolescents: Incorporating the World Professional Association of Transgender Health Standard of Care 8th Edition
2023, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.
This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.