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Early adolescent gender diversity and mental health in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development study
Author(s) -
Potter Alexandra,
Dube Sarahjane,
Allgaier Nicholas,
Loso Hannah,
Ivanova Masha,
Barrios Lisa C.,
Bookheimer Susan,
Chaarani Bader,
Dumas Julie,
FeldsteinEwing Sarah,
Freedman Edward G.,
Garavan Hugh,
Hoffman Elizabeth,
McGlade Erin,
Robin Leah,
Johns Michelle M.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.652
H-Index - 211
eISSN - 1469-7610
pISSN - 0021-9630
DOI - 10.1111/jcpp.13248
Subject(s) - mental health , nonconformity , transgender , psychology , gender dysphoria , diversity (politics) , longitudinal study , clinical psychology , gender diversity , developmental psychology , psychiatry , medicine , corporate governance , operations management , finance , pathology , sociology , economics , anthropology , psychoanalysis
Background There are known associations between mental health symptoms and transgender identity among adults. Whether this relationship extends to early adolescents and to gender domains other than identity is unclear. This study measured dimensions of gender in a large, diverse, sample of youth, and examined associations between diverse gender experiences and mental health. Methods The ABCD study is an ongoing, longitudinal, US cohort study. Baseline data (release 2.0) include 11,873 youth age 9/10 (48% female); and the 4,951 1‐year follow‐up visits (age 10/11; 48% female) completed prior to data release. A novel gender survey at the 1‐year visit assessed felt‐gender, gender noncontentedness, and gender nonconformity using a 5‐point scale. Mental health measures included youth‐ and parent‐reports. Results Roughly half a percent of 9/10‐year‐olds ( n = 58) responded ‘yes’ or ‘maybe’ when asked, ‘Are you transgender’ at baseline. Recurrent thoughts of death were more prevalent among these youth compared to the rest of the cohort (19.6% vs. 6.4%, χ 2 = 16.0, p < .001). At the 1‐year visit, when asked about the three dimensions of gender on a 5‐point scale, 33.2% ( n = 1,605) provided responses that were not exclusively and totally aligned with one gender. Significant relationships were observed between mental health symptoms and gender diversity for all dimensions assessed. Conclusions Similar to adult studies, early adolescents identifying as transgender reported increased mental health symptoms. Results also point to considerable diversity in other dimensions of gender (felt‐gender, gender noncontentedness, gender nonconformity) among 10/11‐year‐olds, and find this diversity to be related to critical mental health symptoms. These findings add to our limited understanding of the relationship between dimensions of gender and wellness for youth.