Gender Felt Pressure, Affective Domains, and Mental Health Outcomes among Transgender and Gender Diverse (TGD) Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review with Developmental and Clinical Implications

Summary & key facts

This systematic review looked at research about mental health in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) children and adolescents. It included 33 studies found in Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science. The review found that TGD young people often show high levels of anxiety and depression, and also report problems like eating disorders and substance use. The papers also describe resilience factors that help some TGD youth cope. The authors link many of the mental health differences to minority stress, especially pressure to conform to one’s assigned gender, and they give suggestions for future research and clinical work.

Key facts:

• The review included 33 articles found using Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science and followed PRISMA guidelines.
• TGD children and adolescents were reported to experience high levels of anxiety and high levels of depression across the reviewed studies.
• The review also found reports of other emotional and behavioral problems in TGD youth, including eating disorders and substance use.
• Authors of the review noted that TGD individuals often show strong resilience factors that can help them face stigma and discrimination.
• The review identifies minority stressors—mainly pressure to conform to an assigned gender—as a central factor linked to the mental health disparities seen in TGD youth.
• The review concludes that health disparities exist between TGD young people and the general (cisgender) population, and it offers considerations for research and clinical practice.

Abstract

Although capable of mobilizing significant resilience factors to face stigma and discrimination, transgender and gender diverse (TGD) children and adolescents tend to suffer from more adverse mental health outcomes compared to their cisgender counterparts. The minority stressors that this population faces are mainly due to the gender-based pressure to conform to their assigned gender. This systematic review was aimed at assessing the potential mental health issues that affect the TGD population. The literature search was conducted in three databases; namely, Scopus, PubMed, and Web of Science, based on the PRISMA guidelines. The 33 articles included in the systematic review pointed out how TGD children and adolescents experience high levels of anxiety and depression, as well as other emotional and behavioral problems, such as eating disorders and substance use. Resilience factors have been also pointed out, which aid this population in facing these negative mental health outcomes. The literature review highlighted that, on the one hand, TGD individuals appear to exhibit high levels of resilience; nonetheless, health disparities exist for TGD individuals compared with the general population, which are mainly attributable to the societal gender pressure to conform to their assigned gender. Considerations for research and clinical practice are provided.

Topics

Gender Roles and Identity Studies LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

Categories

Psychology Social Psychology Social Sciences

Tags

Affect (linguistics) Anxiety Clinical psychology Communication Environmental health Law Medicine MEDLINE Mental health Political science Population Psychiatry Psychoanalysis Psychological resilience Psychology Scopus Social psychology Stigma (botany) Stressor Systematic review Transgender

Conditions & symptoms

Anxiety Anxiety or worry Sadness or low mood