Open AccessGender expansive youth disclosure and mental health: Clinical implications of gender identity disclosure.
Author(s) -
Timothy McKay,
Ryan J. Watson
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
psychology of sexual orientation and gender diversity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2329-0390
pISSN - 2329-0382
DOI - 10.1037/sgd0000354
Subject(s) - expansive , psychology , gender identity , mental health , self disclosure , transgender , minority stress , identity (music) , clinical psychology , social psychology , developmental psychology , sexual orientation , psychiatry , sexual minority , psychoanalysis , materials science , compressive strength , composite material , physics , acoustics
Some healthcare providers work with gender expansive youth, and preliminary evidence notes that many of these youth do not disclose their gender identity to all of their healthcare providers. No previous research focused on youth has explored gender identity disclosure to healthcare providers, nor linked youth disclosure to negative mental health outcomes (e.g., symptoms of depression). Data were drawn from the LGBTQ National Teen Survey in order to test the relationship between gender identity disclosure, symptoms of depression, and self-esteem among 5,637 13- to 17-year old ( M age = 15.6) participants who identified as transgender boys, transgender girls, non-binary youth who were assigned female at birth (AFAB), or assigned male non-binary youth who were assigned male at birth (AMAB). Transgender boys reported the highest symptoms of depression and the lowest levels of self-esteem in comparison to other groups. Among the full sample, 66.8% had not disclosed their gender identity healthcare providers-non-binary AMAB youth were least likely to disclose (77.6%). Symptoms of depression were the highest and self-esteem was the lowest for transgender boys with mixed levels of disclosure. Transgender girls reported the lowest symptoms of depression - these youth had also disclosed their identities the most. Findings suggest that mixed disclosure to healthcare providers is problematic for gender expansive youth, especially transgender boys. Findings suggest a need to better prepare health professionals to understand not all gender expansive youth may feel comfortable disclosing their gender identities in medical contexts. Future research should explore gender affirmative healthcare as a potential protective factor in combatting negative mental health outcomes.