An adolescent requesting to pause puberty

Author(s):  
Cordelia Y. Ross ◽  
Alex S. Keuroghlian

Gender dysphoria occurs when a patient has distress associated with incongruence between a person’s experienced gender and the gender traditionally associated with their sex assigned at birth. This must occur for at least six months. The psychiatric assessment of a patient with gender dysphoria should include exploration of the child’s developmental history of gender-expansive identification and expression; sources of distress relating to familial, community, and social stigma; and ways to help families adopt an accepting and nurturing response. Gender affirmation can include psychological, social, legal, and biological interventions. The goal of psychotherapy is to help a person explore, discover, and affirm their gender identity. Social affirmation may include changing names, pronouns, and gender expression. Legal gender affirmation may take place through a name or gender marker change on official documents. Biological affirmation may include pubertal suppression for younger adolescents, gender-affirming hormone therapy, and/or gender-affirming surgery.

Author(s):  
Jae M. Sevelius ◽  
Deepalika Chakravarty ◽  
Samantha E. Dilworth ◽  
Greg Rebchook ◽  
Torsten B. Neilands

Among transgender and gender diverse people, psychological gender affirmation is an internal sense of valuing oneself as a transgender or gender diverse person, being comfortable with one’s gender identity, and feeling satisfied with one’s body and gender expression. Gender affirmation can reduce gender dysphoria and mitigate deleterious health effects of marginalization. We sought to create an instrument to measure psychological gender affirmation among transgender women. Following initial item development using qualitative interviews, we used self-administered survey data from two distinct samples (N1 = 278; N2 = 368) of transgender women living with HIV in the USA. We used data from Study 1 to perform exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and data from Study 2 to perform confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), yielding the five-item single-factor Psychological Gender Affirmation (PGA) scale with high reliability (α = 0.88). This scale is psychometrically sound as demonstrated by its convergent and discriminant validity via correlations with select measures and by its predictive validity through associations in hypothesized directions with measures of mental health and substance use. The PGA scale will aid research on psychological gender affirmation that can in turn inform interventions as well as gender-affirming clinical and social practices to promote the health and well-being of transgender and gender diverse people.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bianca Machado Borba Soll ◽  
Anna Martha Fontanari ◽  
Angelo Brandelli Costa ◽  
Ítala Chinazzo ◽  
Dhiordan Cardoso Silva ◽  
...  

Since 2014, the Gender Identity Program (PROTIG) of Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre (HCPA) has been assisting transgender youth seeking gender-affirmative treatment offered at a public health-care service specializing in gender in southern Brazil. This article aims to analyze sociodemographic and clinical data regarding the diagnoses of gender dysphoria and gender incongruence, psychiatric comorbidities, and clinical aspects of a sample of transgender youths seeking health care in the gender identity program. The research protocol consisted of a survey of the data collected in the global psychological evaluation performed at the health-care service for youths diagnosed with gender incongruence and their caretakers. Participating in this research were 24 transgender youths between 8 and 16 years old with diagnostic overlap of gender dysphoria [Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5)] and gender incongruence [International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision (ICD-11)] and 34 of their caregivers. Of the young people, 45.8% were positive for some psychiatric comorbidity throughout their lives, with almost half (45.4%) having two or more psychiatric comorbidities in addition to gender dysphoria. The mental health professionals comprising affirmation care teams face the challenge of adapting the care protocols to the uniqueness of each demand by developing individualized forms to promote healthy development. This can be done by focusing not only on medical and physical interventions for gender affirmation but also on the promotion of mental health and general emotional well-being. Thus, the gender affirmation model, which advocates for global assessment and personalized guidance, proved to be adequate. Nevertheless, access to multidisciplinary health services specializing in gender is essential for promoting the general well-being of the population of transgender youth.


2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dhiordan Cardoso Silva ◽  
Leonardo Romeira Salati ◽  
Anna Paula Villas-Bôas ◽  
Karine Schwarz ◽  
Anna Martha Fontanari ◽  
...  

This study aimed to examine psychosocial factors and medical history as well as symptoms of depression, anxiety, and stress associated with ruminative thinking in transgender people with gender dysphoria (GD) before undergoing gender affirmation surgery (GAS). This study evaluated 189 participants with GD (111 trans women and 78 trans men) from a specialized service for GAS in southern Brazil. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, and participants were asked to complete self-report questionnaires. We recovered participants' sociodemographic and psychosocial data (e.g., history of sexual abuse, expulsion from home, and history of drug use) and data regarding their clinical history (e.g., medication, history of suicidal ideation and attempted suicide, and HIV status). Further, we implemented the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) to examine participants' psychological state, as well as the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) to assess ruminative thinking, which includes brooding and reflection. The predictor variables were those that exhibited a minimum level of significance of p ≤ 0.05 in multivariate linear regression. The ruminative thinking scores for trans women were higher than those of trans men (Brooding p = 0.014; Reflection p = 0.052).In the multivariate model, suicidal ideation, moderate depression, and severe/very severe anxiety were associated with both brooding and reflection. Feminine gender identity and stress symptoms moderated only brooding, while anxiety symptoms moderated only reflection. Our findings show that trans women had the highest ruminative thinking scores, and that depression, anxiety, stress, and suicidal ideation were associated with ruminative thinking in total sample. Psychological symptoms should be examined in the context of gender affirmation surgery to minimize the possibility of adverse mental health outcomes. Follow-up studies are required to measure ruminative thinking levels more accurately and to identify its predictors.


2015 ◽  
Vol 4 (07) ◽  
pp. 180-202
Author(s):  
Sebastián Del Pino Rubio ◽  
Valentina Verbal Stockmeyer

El objetivo del presente trabajo es analizar el proyecto de ley que reconoce y protege el derecho a la identidad de género. Para ello, y después de explicar los conceptos primordiales aplicables a la diversidad sexual (orientación sexual, identidad de género y expresión de género), se caracterizan sus disposiciones principales, y se explican sus fundamentos, tanto jurídicos como sociales. The objective of this work is analize the billthat recognizes and protects the right to gender identity. In order to do this, and after explaining the concepts applicable to primary sexual diversity (sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression), then characterizing its main provisions; and thereafter explaining their rationale, both legal and social.


2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 277-290 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jos Twist ◽  
Nastasja M de Graaf

There has been a recent rise in the number of people who hold a non-binary gender identity. However, the proportion of young people attending gender services who identify as non-binary has not yet been investigated. This article presents the findings from a pilot study of newly designed questionnaire, the Gender Diversity Questionnaire, which included questions about gender identity and gender expression. Responses from 251 adolescents attending the United Kingdom’s National Gender Identity Development Service between June 2016 and February 2017 are reported here. The majority, 56.9%, of young people identified as trans, 29.3% identified as a binary gender (male or female), 11% identified as non-binary and 1.2% as agender. There were no significant differences in self-defined identities based on assigned gender or age. However, once young people were separated into these groups, some of them were very small; thus, a larger sample is required. In terms of aspects of gender expression that were important to the young people, the data formed five themes – name and pronouns, external appearance, the body, intrinsic factors and ‘other’. Strengths and weaknesses of the research are discussed as well as future work that will be conducted.


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