Wellbeing

Gender Diversity - The Research

Following conversations with staff about children in primary school questioning their gender identity or determining to identify other than the gender at birth, I thought it important to share information provided by the Royal Children Hospital in Melbourne. 

Please let me know if you would appreciate meeting time to explore this topic further or whether you would value an expert presenting to staff.

https://www.rch.org.au/kidsinfo/fact_sheets/Gender_diverse_children_and_youth/

A summary :

• Children develop their gender identity at an early age, around 3-5 years old.
• About 2-3% of Australian youth identify as gender diverse, though most studies are done in 14-25yo young people. 
• Gender diverse young people have a higher risk of developing mental ill-health experiencing depression, anxiety, eating disorders, self-harming behaviour and suicide attempts. They overall have lower quality of life.
• Strong contributing factors to their poor mental health are those related to their educational setting, such as peer rejection, bullying and discrimination.
• A supportive home and school environment has shown to improve their mental health outcomes.

References

Strauss P, Cook A, Winter S, Watson V, Wright Toussaint D, Lin A. Associations between negative life experiences and the mental health of trans and gender diverse young people in Australia: findings from Trans Pathways. Psychological Medicine. 2020;50(5):808-817. doi:10.1017/S0033291719000643

Engel L, Majmudar I, Mihalopoulos C, Tollit MA, Pang KC. Assessment of Quality of Life of Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents in Melbourne, Australia, 2017-2020. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(2):e2254292. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2022.54292

Janet