Abstract
Research studies examining the mental health of transgender individuals often focus on depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation through the use of clinic samples. However, little is known about the emerging adult (18–26 years old) transgender population and their mental health. The current study seeks to fill that gap by using a national dataset of college students (N = 547,727) to examine how transgender college students (n = 1143) differ from their cisgender peers regarding 12 different mental health conditions. Chi-square and regression analyses were conducted. Results demonstrate that transgender students have approximately twice the risk for most mental health conditions compared to cisgender female students. A notable exception is schizophrenia, in which transgender individuals have about seven times the risk compared to cisgender females. While these were significant findings, regression analyses indicate that being non-heterosexual is a greater predictor for mental health concerns. Implications for mental health practitioners at colleges and universities are discussed.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been a substantial increase in research examining health disparities among sexual and gender minorities
Logistic regression was employed to ascertain a better understanding of how transgender identity and the other demographic variables affected the risk for these mental health conditions
The odds ratio indicated that transgender-identified students were approximately twice as likely to have the mental health condition compared to self-identified cisgender females
Summary
There has been a substantial increase in research examining health disparities among sexual and gender minorities. The U.S National Institutes of Health has designated sexual and gender minorities as a health disparity population [3], and the Institute of Medicine has recommended expanding research on transgender individuals [2]. The term transgender typically refers to individuals whose gender identity and/or gender expression is not congruent with the sex they were assigned at birth For some individuals, this may mean that they want to transition from one gender to another, while for others it may indicate a dissatisfaction with the gender binary as applicable to their identity. This may mean that they want to transition from one gender to another, while for others it may indicate a dissatisfaction with the gender binary as applicable to their identity These individuals may identify as transgender, genderqueer, gender fluid, gender non-conforming, or other related terms [4]
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