Association Between Gender Minority Status and Mental Health in High School Students.
White, James;
Moore, Laurence;
Cannings-John, Rebecca;
Hawkins, Jemma;
Bonell, Chris;
Hickman, Matthew;
Zammit, Stanley;
Adara, Linda;
(2023)
Association Between Gender Minority Status and Mental Health in High School Students.
Journal of adolescent health, 72 (5).
pp. 811-814.
ISSN 1054-139X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2022.12.028
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PURPOSE: Adolescence is a phase when young people begin to explore their gender identity. Adolescents who identify as a gender minority are vulnerable to experiencing mental health problems due to stigmatization of their identity. METHODS: A population-wide study compared gender minority and cisgender students (aged 13-14 years) self-reported symptoms of probable depression, anxiety, and conduct disorder, and auditory hallucinations, including the distress and frequency of hallucinations. RESULTS: Gender minority students compared to cisgender students had four times the odds of reporting a probable depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, auditory hallucinations, but not conduct disorder. Of those who reported a hallucination, gender minority students were more likely to report hearing them daily but were no more likely to find them distressing. DISCUSSION: Gender minority students experience a disproportionate burden of mental health problems. Services and programming should be adapted to better support gender minority high-school students.