Transgender Youth and Life-threatening Behaviors
Multiple studies show that sexual minority status is a significant suicide-related issue among lesbian, gay, and bisexual teenagers, but the research hasn’t been extended to transgender youths. In 2002, the United States recorded approximately 4,010 teenage suicides, making suicide the third leading cause of death for individuals between the age of fifteen and twenty-four. In a different study, around 19% of gay university students had attempted suicide at some point, with many cases being related to conflicts over sexual orientation. Technically, youths are associated with life-threatening behaviors that are driven by conditions like self-hatred, low self-esteem, family violence, bullying, and sexual identity disputes. The later conditions typically lead many teenagers to attempt suicide mainly when they are disposed by other external factors. Similar to the LGB groups, transgender youths are exposed to victimization from peers, gender conformity conflicts, substance abuse, and identity. Besides the exogenous factors, like victimization and rejection, the transgender group also faces personal distress and isolation. This paper summarizes the article by Grossman & D’Augelli (2007), which evaluates patterns of life-threatening behaviors among transgender youths.
Research Question
In the research paper Grossman & D’Augelli (2007) focused mainly on the history of life-threatening practices among transgender youths and other related components. The group was guided by four main questions.
- What is the history of life-threatening behavior among trans-gender youths?
- How does parental reaction to gender nonconformity and transgender identity influence life-threatening behaviors?
- How do feelings of personal perception, like body appearance influence life-threatening behaviors among youths?
- What defines the distinction between transgender youths that have attempted life-threatening practices and those who have not?
Hypotheses
Gender nonconforming youths and those whose gender identities differ from assigned birth sex are typically criticized by society. Some of these individuals identify as transgender, with a section of them experiencing distress that could spur life-threatening behaviors. Technically, the harmful experiences faced by transgender youths have not been researched by social science significantly, which leaves a massive gap in the field. Thus, Grossman & D’Augelli (2007) didn’t have provide a specific hypothesis for their study, but instead capitalized on the research to generate vital information that could be useful in future research.
Method
Majority of the data applied in the experiment was imported from other exploratory studies on the factors that influence the development of transgender youth. The procedure of the assessment involved interviews that assessed the experiences of transgender youths. Also, the participants underwent a series of battery measures that analyzed adjustments and mental health. Data used in the experiment was obtained from a sample of male-to-female (MTF) and female to male (FTM) individuals whose gender identity differed from birth issued sex. Transgender youths are a relatively concealed population and the experimenters couldn’t find a representative sample. They had to get participants from a New York-based program that provided services to the LGBT community.
Participants
The Sample of the study included 31 MTF and 24 FTM individuals aged between 15 and 21 and with a mean age of 17.5. In the contexts of ethnicity and race, 22 were Hispanic, 41 were white, 7 identified as African Americans, 3 were affiliated to more than one race, 1 was Asian, while 1 didn’t provide information on ethnicity. Further, 29 participants were in school, 22 in university and 7 in high school. Around 80% of the individuals came from two-person household setups, with 42% being raised by their biological mothers, 1 being under the care of a surrogate, while 6 were raised by their grandmothers. Notably, there were no behavioral differences between the transgender youths raised by biological mothers and grandparents. In the remaining lot, six individuals were nurtured by their biological fathers and one by a step-father.
Assessment
Participants were assigned an interviewer, a professional clinician with years of experience in handling transgender youths. Meetings took place in private rooms located at agency offices or participants or campuses. All participants were required to provide an informed consent after which they filled out a questionnaire and went through a structured interview. The interviews were organized into several components that evaluated specific life-threatening behaviors and related factors.
In the category of suicide ideation participants answered questions like how many times they had though of committing suicide. Interviews also asked them if the thoughts were connected to being transgender. The interviews also assessed patterns of suicide attempts, where history of life-threatening behaviors were assessed. Youths were required to state how many times they attempted suicide before and the severity of the actions. The responses were grouped into various methods including hanging, the use of fire arms, drug overdose, and poison, to name a few.
Results
In descriptive findings, the researchers observed that 55 youths had seriously contemplated on committing suicide, while 30 never experienced the thoughts. Also, 11 individuals confirmed they often faced serious thoughts of taking their lives, while 14 rarely thought about the act. Further, a half of the participants who seriously thought about suicide affirmed that the action was connected to them being transgender, with more MTF youth facing transgender identity conflicts. From the 25 individuals who contemplated on committing suicide, eight had thought about taking action in the last year.
Additionally, 14 individuals confirmed a previous record of life-threatening behaviors, where ten youths reported one attempt, three recorded two attempts, and one exemptional individual reported twenty attempts. Also, the average age of youths who reported life-threatening behaviors was between ten and seventeen years, with most individuals attempting suicide at sixteen years. All participants confirmed that at least one of the suicide attempts was related to them being transgender, with ten youths claiming their firsts attempts were propelled by gender identity. Six participants strongly agreed with the notion that most suicide attempts occur when individuals don’t accept their transgender trait.
One of the interview questions asked participants if “they really wanted to die.” In response, three individuals picked “definitely yes”, three selected “yes” five responded “no,” and three said “definitely no.” Conclusively, the researchers realized that suicide attempts of six participants weren’t “serious” while eight were “serious.” However, the difference in lethality wasn’t definitive, as the variables of interest between the two groups “serious” and “not serious” were non-significant. There were also no notable distinctions in the lethality of suicide attempts between MTF and FTM individuals.
Conclusion
Indeed, the findings of the study affirm that transgender youths are prone to face suicidal ideation and life-threatening behaviors. Approximately half of the participants have seriously contemplated on committing suicide, with half of the group linking the act with being transgender. A quarter of the sample had also attempted suicide, with half of those linking the behavior to gender identity conflicts and being transgender. Five participants confirmed a history of psychiatry visits after suicide attempts, with some affirming the life-threatening behavior was related to their sexual orientation.
In the context of lethality of suicide attempts, where individuals wanted to end their lives, six cases were regarded as “not serious” while eight were considered “extremely serious.” The results affirm that transgender youths regard themselves as vulnerable, a perception that increases the risk for suicide. Also, the study confirmed that non-heterosexual persons are stigmatized in most societies, with different cultures showcasing varying perceptions on the LGBT community. Most individuals from these groups face significant prejudices and discrimination and some lack support from peers and family.
Grossman & D’Augelli (2007) concluded that youths who attempt suicide often receive verbal and physical abuse from their parents or guardians. The finding conformed with previous studies that claimed that factors like family and peer relations significanty increased suicide attempts among transgender youths. Also, the study concluded that societal customs on the expected physique of male and females affect the behavior of transgender people. When youths transition into a transgender life, they contradict various societal customs, including questioning the accuracy of physiological practices. Consequently, it’s vital for society to comprehend the perception of transgender youths about their bodies.
According to Grossman & D’Augelli (2007), attempts of suicide attempts among transgender youths are linked to aspects like body esteem, weight satisfaction, and how others perceive their bodies. Indeed, most of the individuals don’t seek perfection to but instead work to gain inner peace and comfort by leveraging self-perception. In this sense, transgender youths alter their bodies to make society identify them as the men or women they connect with. However, most transgender youths don’t have necessary resources to transform their bodies completely to help society identify them as male or female.
Therefore, there is a need for proper interventions for both youths and parents, which include educational programs, training, and mental health interventions. Parents need to learn about the transgender community and understand how negative treatment of youths affects their overall well-being. Also, the interventions should target transgender youths who face conflicts with sexual identities and help them lead better lives. Medical professionals need to identify and manage psychological disorders that are associated with indiviuals that have attempted suicide.
References
Grossman, A. H., & D’Augelli, A. R. (2007). Transgender Youth and Life-Threatening Behaviors. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 37(5), 527-537.