In an effort to dismiss the notion that poor mental health goes hand-in-hand with transgenderism, researchers from the University of Washington surveyed the parents of 73 transgender children in an effort to prove that support and understanding does much to protect and bolster the emotional wellbeing of trans youngsters,
The study, which harnessed the thoughts, opinions and lived experiences of these families, established that trans children living with supportive families exhibited signs of good mental health.
Using two control groups; the children's own siblings as well as a group of age and gender-matched children, researchers concluded that the rate of depression among trans children aged between three and 12-years-old was no higher than that of their counterparts.
Commenting on the findings, lead author, Kristina Olson, said: "The thinking has always been that kids who are not acting gender-stereotypically are basically destined to have mental health problems. In our study, that's not the case."
Praising the results of the study, co-author, Katie McLaughlin, asserted: "They suggest that mental health problems are not inevitable in this group, and that family support might buffer these children from the onset of mental health problems so commonly observed in transgender people."
While depression among trans children correlated almost exactly with the national level, findings did indicate that there exists a higher level of anxiety among transchildren - something which researchers did not find particularly surprising.
"If peers know that a child is transgender, they often tease that child. If peers do not know, the transgender child has to worry about being found out. It’s not surprising that transgender children would have some more anxiety, given the state of the world for transgender children right now," explained Ms. Olsen.
