Identifying protective factors for gender diverse adolescents' mental health

Few studies have disentangled differences in victimization exposures and mental health symptoms among gender diverse subgroups, nor considered the role of potential protective factors in ameliorating the impact of victimization on gender diverse youths' mental health. Here we report findings fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Npj mental health research 2023-07, Vol.2 (1), p.10-10, Article 10
Main Authors: Holt, Melissa K, Parodi, Katharine B, Elgar, Frank J, Vigna, Abra, Moore, L B, Koenig, Brian
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Child & adolescent mental health
Ethnicity
Gender identity
Heterosexuality
Hispanic Americans
Mental depression
Mental health
Non-binary gender
School districts
Sex crimes
Sexual orientation
Sociodemographics
Students
Suicides & suicide attempts
Teenagers
Transgender persons
Urban schools
Victimization
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Summary:Few studies have disentangled differences in victimization exposures and mental health symptoms among gender diverse subgroups, nor considered the role of potential protective factors in ameliorating the impact of victimization on gender diverse youths' mental health. Here we report findings from a secondary data analysis, in which we address this gap by analyzing cross-sectional survey data (N = 11,264 in the final analytic sample) from a population-based survey of youth in participating school districts in a large Midwestern U.S. county. Relative to cisgender youth with gender conforming expression, transgender youth and cisgender youth with nonconforming gender expression are more likely to experience victimization and severe mental health concerns. Additionally, school-connectedness moderates the association between bias-based harassment and depression for cisgender youth with gender nonconforming expression, and family support/monitoring buffers the association of peer victimization with suicide attempts among transgender youth. Findings highlight the need to better understand factors which may confer protection among gender diverse adolescents, so that in turn appropriate supports across key contexts can be implemented.
ISSN:2731-4251
2731-4251
DOI:10.1038/s44184-023-00029-8