Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals

Klinger, Diana; Riedl, Stefan; Zesch, Heidi Elisabeth; Oehlke, Sofia-Marie; Völkl-Kernstock, Sabine; Plener, Paul L.; Karwautz, Andreas; Kothgassner, Oswald D.

doi:10.3390/jcm12144710

Open AccessArticle

Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals

by

Diana Klinger

^1,2,*

,

Stefan Riedl

^2,3,4,

Heidi Elisabeth Zesch

^1,2,

Sofia-Marie Oehlke

^1,2

,

Sabine Völkl-Kernstock

^1,2,

Paul L. Plener

^1,2,

Andreas Karwautz

^1,2

and

Oswald D. Kothgassner

^1,2,†

¹

Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

²

Comprehensive Center of Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

³

Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

⁴

St. Anna Children’s Hospital, Medical University of Vienna, 1090 Vienna, Austria

^*

Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

^†

Senior author.

J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12(14), 4710; https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12144710

Submission received: 20 June 2023 / Revised: 10 July 2023 / Accepted: 13 July 2023 / Published: 16 July 2023

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Clinical Updates on Psychology in Children and Adolescents)

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Abstract

Gender dysphoric adolescents report a gender identity which is incongruent with their assigned sex at birth, whereby the experienced incongruence is accompanied by clinically relevant distress. The aim of the study was to assess and compare the mental health of transgender youth by assigned sex at birth. A total of n = 49 adolescents (n = 29 assigned females at birth, n = 20 assigned male at birth) aged 12 to 18 years with the diagnosis of gender dysphoria according to DSM-5 were included in the study. The adolescents underwent a psychological assessment in a child and adolescent psychiatry outpatient department prior to starting gender-affirming medical treatment, completing relevant mental health questionnaires. Although no differences were found in psychiatric disorders, more externalizing problems above the clinical threshold were reported by parents in assigned female at birth (AFAB) adolescents. On the other hand, internalizing problems, both in general and within the clinical range, were found to be more prevalent in assigned male at birth (AMAB) adolescents, as indicated by self-report. Our results suggest that a comprehensive assessment of mental health in gender dysphoric adolescents is crucial for understanding the diverse range of challenges they may face and tailoring appropriate interventions to address their specific needs.

Keywords: gender dysphoria; gender incongruence; transgender; mental health; adolescence

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MDPI and ACS Style

Klinger, D.; Riedl, S.; Zesch, H.E.; Oehlke, S.-M.; Völkl-Kernstock, S.; Plener, P.L.; Karwautz, A.; Kothgassner, O.D. Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals. J. Clin. Med. 2023, 12, 4710. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12144710

AMA Style

Klinger D, Riedl S, Zesch HE, Oehlke S-M, Völkl-Kernstock S, Plener PL, Karwautz A, Kothgassner OD. Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023; 12(14):4710. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12144710

Chicago/Turabian Style

Klinger, Diana, Stefan Riedl, Heidi Elisabeth Zesch, Sofia-Marie Oehlke, Sabine Völkl-Kernstock, Paul L. Plener, Andreas Karwautz, and Oswald D. Kothgassner. 2023. "Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals" Journal of Clinical Medicine 12, no. 14: 4710. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12144710

APA Style

Klinger, D., Riedl, S., Zesch, H. E., Oehlke, S.-M., Völkl-Kernstock, S., Plener, P. L., Karwautz, A., & Kothgassner, O. D. (2023). Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 12(14), 4710. https://doi.org/10.3390/jcm12144710

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Mental Health of Transgender Youth: A Comparison of Assigned Female at Birth and Assigned Male at Birth Individuals

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