A ROADMAP FOR RESILIENCE: MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS AMONG TRANSGENDER YOUTH IN WASHINGTON STATE

Madeline E. Fodor

doi:10.7273/000007369

Introduction: Limited research suggests that approximately 1.4% of adolescents in the U.S. identify as transgender, a gender identity that is not aligned with sex assigned at birth. This small but significant group faces unique psychosocial challenges, as they are simultaneously affected by the stressors and vulnerabilities typical of adolescence and internalized and externalized gender minority-related stressors. A better understanding of how to bolster mental health among transgender adolescents is greatly needed. Methods: The sample was drawn from the 2021 Washington State Healthy Youth Survey (HYS), administered biennially to students in the Washington State public school system. The current study utilized census-level data among 10th graders who completed Form A of the survey (n = 22,105). Chi-square tests of independence were conducted to test if differences in depression and suicidal ideation (both dichotomous variables) existed between youth who self-identified as transgender (n = 556), gender-questioning (n = 1,435), and those who did not self-identify as transgender (n = 20,114). One-way ANOVAs were conducted to test if differences in anxiety (an ordinal variable) existed between the three groups, and Games-Howell post hoc tests were conducted to determine where differences were observed between the three groups. Next, logistic and linear regressions were conducted to determine if protective factors across socio-ecological domains (i.e., neighborhood/community dynamics, school dynamics; housing security; family dynamics, internal loci) were associated with mental health outcomes among the self-identified transgender sample. Results: Negative mental health outcomes were elevated among self-identified transgender (SI-transgender) and gender-questioning (SI-gender-questioning) adolescents compared to their peers who did not self-identify as transgender (non-SI-transgender), including symptoms of depression and anxiety, and suicidal ideation. No differences in mental health outcomes were observed between SI-transgender and SI-gender-questioning adolescents. In regression models examining the SI-transgender sample, less bullying and more internal loci of control were associated with decreased depression, anxiety and suicidal ideation. Neighborhood/community attachment was also associated with decreased suicidal ideation. Conclusions: Findings revealed consistent mental health disparities among SI-transgender and SI-gender-questioning adolescents, highlighting the need for prevention programming and policy measures to address these outcomes. No differences in mental health outcomes were observed between SI-transgender and SI-gender-questioning adolescents, indicating that programming and policies should extend to broader gender non-conforming groups beyond those who identify explicitly with the category transgender. Less bullying and more hope were associated with better mental health outcomes, and neighborhood attachment was linked with less suicidal ideation among SI-transgender adolescents. These findings provide evidence of malleable targets for effective prevention interventions.

A ROADMAP FOR RESILIENCE: MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES AND PROTECTIVE FACTORS AMONG TRANSGENDER YOUTH IN WASHINGTON STATE

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