Psychosocial assessment in transgender adolescents

Abstract

ObjectivesTo evaluate the psychosocial status of the patients who attend a paediatric endocrinology clinic due to gender incongruity (GI), and to establish the impact on this after one-year of cross hormonal therapy (CHT). Material and methodsAn analytical and prospective study conducted on adolescents between 14 and 18 years old with GI, and who attended the Endocrinology Clinic during 2018–2019. The sample included 23 transgender cases (16 male and 7 female cases) and 30 cisgender controls. Study variables were collected at T0 (pre-treatment) and T1 (after one year of CHT) and included sociodemographic data, Utrecht test, SDQ-Cas test, family APGAR test, STAI scale-anxiety Grade, and BDI-II depression assessment test. ResultsA significant improvement (P<.05) was found between T0 and T1 in the transgender group in terms of emotional symptoms, behaviour problems, hyperactivity symptoms, pro-social conduct, as well as in the degree of anxiety and depression measured by the SDQ-Cas test, the STAI and the BDI-II scale. There were significant differences in these scales between the transgender group and the controls at T0, however, the scores equalised at T1. The families in this sample of transgender patients provided a very favourable environment according to the scores obtained on the family APGAR scale. ConclusionsThe rates of anxiety, emotional and behaviour distress, depressive symptomatology, as well as the feeling of gender dysphoria of these transgender patients were similar to those of non-transsexual population of the same age after one year of CHT initiated at ages between 14 and 18 years old.