Publications - Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Teens and parents have wildly different views on kids’ support needs, by Erin Blakemore, The Washington Post, Jul 20 2024.

“Adolescents and teens are less than half as likely as their parents to say they always receive the emotional and social support they need, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report suggests, with less than 30 percent of young people in a survey reporting that they always have such support. The analysis, released last week, draws on data gathered by the National Health Interview Survey, which queries a representative sample of U.S. residents. Nearly 1,200 adolescents ages 12-17 and some 4,400 parents were interviewed between July 2021 and December 2022. When teens were asked how often they get the social and emotional support they need, 27.5 percent said “always,” 31 percent said “usually,” 12.5 percent said “rarely” and 7.4 percent said “never.” But 76.9 percent of parents said their teenage children always have the support they need. The disconnect might reflect survey differences, parents’ unwillingness to answer sensitive questions negatively for an interviewer or differing ideas of what social and emotional support means, the researchers write. Overall, boys were likelier to report higher levels of perceived support, and teens under 15 were more likely to say they always or usually got such support than older teens. Black and Hispanic teens were less likely than their White counterparts to say they had enough support. Sexual- or gender-minority teens also reported getting less support than their counterparts. Teens whose parents had a bachelor’s degree or higher and whose families had higher incomes were likelier to report they always or usually get enough support. So were teenagers who live in nonmetropolitan areas and the Northeast. The teens who said they had enough support were less likely to have health problems, depression and low sleep quality than their peers with less support, the researchers write. ”

People who are gay, lesbian or bi have more mental health and substance use problems, survey finds, by Jen Christensen, CNN, Jun 13 2023.

“Despite increasing acceptance of the LGBTQ+ community, at least in some circles, adults who identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual are more likely than those who identify as straight to have serious thoughts of suicide and mental health conditions including major depressive episodes, and they are more likely to misuse substances like alcohol or drugs, according to a new US government report. The report, published Tuesday, comes from the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health, sponsored by the US Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. It’s included a question about how the participant identifies their sexual orientation since 2015. The data in the report, which focuses on LGB adults, comes from 2021 and 2022. ”

For transgender kids, a frantic rush for treatment amid bans, by Sam Metz and Amancai Biraben , AP News, Apr 22 2023.

“Those who oppose gender-affirming care raise fears about the long-term effects treatments have on teens, argue research is limited and focus particularly on irreversible procedures such as genital surgery or mastectomies.  Yet those are rare. Doctors typically guide kids toward therapy or voice coaching long before medical intervention. At that point, puberty blockers, anti-androgens that block the effects of testosterone, and hormone treatments are far more common than surgery. They have been available in the United States for more than a decade and are standard treatments backed by major doctors’ organizations including the American Medical Association.  Multiple studies have shown that transgender youth are more likely to consider or attempt suicide and less at risk for depression and suicidal behaviors when able to access gender-affirming care. ”

988 Lifeline sees boost in use and funding in first months, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Jan 16 2023.

“The 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline received over 1.7 million calls, texts and chats in its first five months. That's nearly half a million more than the old 10-digit Suicide Prevention Lifeline fielded during the same period the year before.  Launched in mid-July last year, the 988 number is modeled on the 911 system and is designed to be a memorable and quick number that connects people who are suicidal or in any other mental health crisis to a trained mental health professional.  "We see the uptick in volume as an indicator that more people are aware of the service and are able to access it," says Kimberly Williams, the president and CEO of Vibrant Emotional Health, the non-profit that oversees the national 988 network of nearly 200 crisis centers spread across the nation. ”

10 ways to get mental health help during a therapist shortage, by Lindsey Bever, The Washington Post, Oct 29 2022.

“Anxiety and depression have been on the rise in the United States since the start of the pandemic. This has led to a crisis in mental health that has been worsened by the shortage of mental health counselors.  A significant number of mental health professionals are not accepting new clients. Others have long waiting lists.  The Washington Post asked mental health professionals what advice they would give people who are struggling to find a therapist. About 300 experts from across the country responded with advice on getting an appointment — and tips on what people can do in the meantime to try to help themselves. Here are their recommendations. ”

Trans inmates need access to gender-affirming care. Often they have to sue to get it, by Jaclyn Diaz , NPR, Oct 25 2022.

“Health experts and attorneys for civil rights groups, as well as incarcerated and formerly incarcerated individuals, told NPR that getting reliable gender-affirming care in prison seems to often come only after threats of lawsuits or an all-out legal fight. Prisons that do provide gender-affirming care can often still be inconsistent, regardless of policies on the books.  "Prisons oftentimes refuse to treat transgender people consistent with their gender. And they also refuse to provide medically necessary health care," Taylor Brown, a staff attorney at the American Civil Liberties Union, told NPR. Gender-affirming care can include "puberty suppression, hormone therapy, and gender-affirming surgeries among others," according to the World Professional Association for Transgender Health.  Access to this care is considered medically necessary to treat gender dysphoria. Without it, individuals can struggle severely with mental health issues such as heightened anxiety and depression, with some turning to self-harm and suicide. ”

Transgender youth at a higher risk for suicidal thoughts, report says, by Chiara Greco, The Globe and Mail, Jun 6 2022.

“Transgender adolescents are nearly five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than their non-transgender and heterosexual peers, according to a new study.  The research, published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, used data from Statistics Canada’s 2019 Canadian Health Survey on Children and Youth to assess the risk of suicide among transgender and sexual-minority youth in Canada. The data included responses from more than 6,800 adolescents aged 15 to 17. Of those respondents, 1,130 indicated some degree of same-gender attraction, 265 were unsure of their attraction and 50 reported transgender identities. The study found that nearly 50 per cent of transgender respondents said they had seriously thought about suicide in the past 12 months, compared to 10.4 per cent of cisgender heterosexual respondents. (Someone is cisgender when their gender identity corresponds with whatever sex they were assigned at birth.) Nearly 6.8 per cent of adolescents included in the study had attempted suicide in their lifetime. ”

How A Hospital And A School District Teamed Up To Help Kids In Emotional Crisis, by Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR, Jun 11 2021.

“The concerning rise in mental health issues noticed by school administrators mirrors national trends. Roughly 1 in 5 U.S. children meet criteria for a mental health disorder, and the rate of suicide attempts among youth has risen over the past decade, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Around the country, most kids who have mental health issues don't get treatment. There's a shortage of providers who work with children and it can take months to get an appointment.  "The wait times on an average to see a mental health specialist on an emergency basis is somewhere between two to three months, and for regular basis is up to 12 months, which is an unacceptable wait time," says Dr. Ujjwal Ramtekkar, a child and adolescent psychiatrist at Nationwide Children's Hospital. ”

A Guide To Gender Identity Terms, by Laurel Wamsley, NPR, Jun 2 2021.

“Issues of equality and acceptance of transgender and nonbinary people — along with challenges to their rights — have become a major topic in the headlines. These issues can involve words and ideas and identities that are new to some.  That's why we've put together a glossary of terms relating to gender identity. Our goal is to help people communicate accurately and respectfully with one another.  Proper use of gender identity terms, including pronouns, is a crucial way to signal courtesy and acceptance. Alex Schmider, associate director of transgender representation at GLAAD, compares using someone's correct pronouns to pronouncing their name correctly – "a way of respecting them and referring to them in a way that's consistent and true to who they are." ”

Gender-affirming surgery linked to better mental health, study finds, by Dan Avery, NBC News, May 1 2021.

“The report, published Wednesday in JAMA Surgery, compared the psychological distress levels, suicide risk and substance use in trans and gender-diverse people who had undergone gender-affirming surgery with those who wanted such procedures but had not yet had them. ”

More transgender youth seeking care in U.S. military health system, by Will Boggs, MD, Reuters, Mar 26 2019.

“The number of transgender children and adolescents receiving care in the U.S. military health system rose substantially from 2010 to 2017, a new study shows. During that time, the number of children of active or retired military personnel seeking gender-affirming care more than quadrupled, researchers found. Until September 2016, gender-affirming care was not covered for the 1.7 million youth who may be eligible for military health service care based on their parents’ current or prior service. At that point, the Department of Defense enacted a policy allowing children of service members to receive full coverage for nonsurgical transgender and gender-diverse care, researchers note in JAMA Pediatrics. ”

Fresh Challenges To State Exclusions On Transgender Health Coverage, by Keren Landman, NPR, Mar 12 2019.

“Studies assessing the financial implications of covering transgender-related health care have demonstrated that the cost of care to insurers, including hormones and surgical therapies, is relatively small. Hormone therapy, which around 75 percent of transgender people seek, starts at $20 to $80 a month and is usually taken for the duration of a person's life after transition. Surgeries range widely in type and cost anywhere from $5,000 to $50,000 each, although many trans people don't desiresurgical treatment. Perhaps of even greater significance is the finding that providing this coverage is cost-effective. Untreated gender dysphoria leads to high rates of adverse — and expensive – outcomes, including HIV infection, depression, suicidality and drug abuse. The cost of accepting these outcomes outweighs the cost of treating their cause. ”

One in four pre-teen suicides may be LGBT youth, by Lisa Rapaport , Reuters, Feb 21 2019.

“Youth 12 to 14 years old who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) are much more likely to die by suicide than their heterosexual peers, a disparity that persists but becomes less pronounced by early adulthood, a U.S. study suggests. While 24 percent of the suicide deaths in the 12 to 14 age group were among LGBT youth in 2013-2015, this dropped to 8 percent of suicides among young adults 25 to 29 years old, researchers report in the Journal of Adolescent Health. ”

LGBT Navajos Discover Unexpected Champions: Their Grandparents, by Laurel Morales, NPR, Jan 26 2019.

“Nationwide, the share of gay, lesbian and bisexual teens who attempt suicide is high — 23 percent. For Navajo LGBTQ youth, the rate is 70 percent, according to the Navajo Nation's Diné Policy Institute. [...] It's not unusual that Navajo grandparents are accepting of being LGBT while parents are not. Historians say federally run boarding schools and other assimilation tactics taught a generation of Navajos that same-sex relationships are wrong. ”

Even with insurance, getting mental health treatment is a struggle in Mass., study says, by Liz Kowalczyk, Boston Globe, Dec 11 2018.

“Massachusetts residents who need health care are colliding with a hard reality: Having medical insurance doesn’t guarantee you can get treatment, particularly for psychiatric problems. More than half of adults who sought mental health or addiction treatment in recent months had difficulty getting that care, according to a survey of 2,201 residents by the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts Foundation in Boston...The obstacle wasn’t a lack of insurance; the vast majority of patients were insured. Rather, the problem was that providers either did not accept their insurance or their practices were closed to new patients. ”