Gender identities in adolescent population : Methodological issues and prevalence across age groups

Background: Increasing numbers of adolescents are seeking treatment from gender identity services, particularly natal girls. It is known from survey studies some adolescents exaggerate their belonging to minorities, thereby distorting prevalence estimates and findings on related problems. The aim of the present study was to explore the susceptibility of gender identity to mischievous responding, and prevalences of cis-gender, opposite-sex and other/non-binary gender identities as corrected for likely mischievous responding among Finnish adolescents. Method: The School Health Promotion Survey 2017 data was used, comprising data on 135,760 adolescents under 21 years (mean 15.73, ds 1.3 years), 50.6% females and 49.4% males. Sex and perceived gender were elicited and gender identities classified based thereon. Likely mischievous responding was analysed using inappropriate responses to biodata and handicaps. Results: Of the participants, 3.5% had most likely given facetious responses, boys more commonly than girls, and younger adolescents more commonly than older. This particularly concerned reporting of nonbinary gender identity. Corrected prevalence of opposite-sex identification was 0.6% and that of nonbinary identification was 3.3%. In boys, displaying non-binary gender identity increased from early to late adolescence, while among girls, opposite-sex and non-binary identifications decreased in prevalence from younger to older age groups. Conclusion: Prevalence of gender identities contrary to one's natal sex was more common than expected. (c) 2018 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Commitment to psychiatric care: what justifies broader criteria for minors?

BioMed Central Open acces

Gender dysphoria in adolescent population : A 5-year replication study

The aim of this study was to explore whether there has been an increase in prevalence and changes in sex ratio in feelings of gender dysphoria (GD) in an adolescent population in Northern Europe, and to study the impact of invalid responding on this topic. We replicated an earlier survey among junior high school students in Tampere, Finland. All first and second year students, aged 16-18, in the participating schools were invited to respond to an anonymous classroom survey on gender experience during the 2012-2013 school year and in the spring and autumn terms of 2017. Gender identity/GD was measured using the GIDYQ-A. A total of 318 male and 401 female youth participated in 2012-2013, and 326 male and 701 female youth in 2017. In the earlier survey, the GIDYQ-A scores, both among males and females, were strongly skewed toward a cis-gender experience with very narrow interquartile ranges. Of males, 2.2%, and of females, 0.5% nevertheless reported possibly clinically significant GD. The 2017 GIDYQ-A distribution was similarly skewed. The proportion of those reporting potentially clinically significant GD was 3.6% among males and 2.3% among females. Validity screening proved to have a considerable impact on conclusions. GD seems to have increased in prevalence in the adolescent population.Peer reviewe

Sexual harassment victimization in adolescence : Associations with family background

Sexual harassment has been studies as a mechanism reproducing inequality between sexes, as gender based discrimination, and more recently, as a public health problem. The role of family-related factors for subjection to sexual harassment in adolescent has been little studied. Our aim was to study the role of socio-demographic family factors and parental involvement in adolescent's persona life for experiences of sexual harassment among 14-18-year-old population girls and boys. An anonymous cross-sectional classroom survey was carried out in comprehensive and secondary schools in Finland. 90 953 boys and 91 746 girls aged 14-18 participated. Sexual harassment was elicited with five questions. Family structure, parental education, parental unemployment and parental involvement as perceived by the adolescent were elicited. The data were analyzed using cross-tabulations with chi-square statistics and logistic regressions. All types of sexual harassment experiences elicited were more common among girls than among boys. Parental unemployment, not living with both parents and low parental education were associated with higher likelihood of reporting experiences of sexual harassment, and parental involvement in the adolescent's personal life was associated with less reported sexual harassment. Parental involvement in an adolescent's life may be protective of perceived sexual harassment. Adolescents from socio-economically disadvantaged families are more vulnerable to sexual harassment than their more advantaged peers. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Sexual harassment and emotional and behavioural symptoms in adolescence : stronger associations among boys than girls

To study the associations between subjection to sexual harassment and emotional (depression) and behavioural (delinquency) symptoms among 14-to-18-year-old adolescents, and gender differences within these associations. 90,953 boys and 91,746 girls aged 14-18 participated in the School Health Promotion Study (SHPS), a school-based survey designed to examine the health, health behaviours, and school experiences of teenagers. Experiences of sexual harassment were elicited with five questions addressing five separate forms of harassment. Depression was measured by the 13-item Beck Depression Inventory and delinquency with a modified version of the International Self-Report Delinquency Study (ISRD) instrument. Data were analysed using cross-tabulations with Chi-square statistics and logistic regression. All sexual harassment experiences studied were associated with both depression (adjusted odds ratios varied from 2.2 to 2.7 in girls and from 2.0 to 5.1 in boys) and delinquency (adjusted odds ratios 3.1-5.0 in girls and 1.7-6.9 in boys). Sexual name-calling had a stronger association with depression and with delinquency in girls (adjusted odds ratios, respectively, 2.4 and 4.2), than in boys (adjusted odds ratios, respectively, 2.0 and 1.7), but otherwise stronger associations with emotional and behavioural symptoms were seen in boys. Subjection to sexual harassment is associated with both emotional and behavioural symptoms in both girls and boys. The associations are mostly stronger for boys. Boys subjected to sexual harassment may feel particularly threatened regarding their masculinity, and there may be less support available for boys traumatised due to sexual harassment.Peer reviewe

Involvement in bullying and depression in a 2-year follow-up in middle adolescence

The main objective was to analyse whether involvement in bullying at school predicts depression, and whether depression predicts involvement in bullying in middle adolescence. A total of 2,070 15-year-old girls and boys in two Finnish cities were surveyed at ninth grade (age 15) at schools, and followed up 2 years later in the Adolescent Mental Health Cohort Study (AMHC). Depression was measured by a Finnish modification of the 13-item short Beck Depression Inventory. Involvement in bullying was elicited by three questions focusing on being a bully, being a victim to bullying, and being left alone by peers against one's wishes. Similar questions were posed at both time points. Statistical analyses were carried out using cross-tabulations with chi-square/ Fisher's Exact Test statistics, and logistic regression. The results summarized that, both being a victim to bullying and being a bully predicted later depression among boys. Among girls, depression at T1 predicted victimisation at T2. Depression at T1 predicted experience of being left alone at T2 among both sexes. It was concluded that victimisation to bullying may be a traumatising event that results in depression. However, depression also predicts experience of victimisation and of being left alone against one’s wishes. Depression may impair an adolescent’s social skills and self-esteem so that the adolescent becomes victimised by peers. However, depression may also distort and adolescent’s experiences of social interactions

Family Characteristics, Transgender Identity and Emotional Symptoms in Adolescence: A Population Survey Study

Sociodemographic and psychosocial family factors have profound implications for adolescent development, identity formation and mental health during the adolescent years. We explored the associations of sociodemographic and psychosocial family factors with transgender identity in adolescence and the role of these factors in the associations between gender identity and emotional disorders. Data from a large adolescent population survey from Finland were analysed using logistic regression models. Reporting transgender identity was associated with mother’s low level of education, accumulating family life events, lack of family cohesion, perceived lack of family economic resources and female sex. A lack of family cohesion further differentiated between adolescents reporting identifying with the opposite sex and those reporting non-binary/other gender identification. The associations between transgender identity, depression and anxiety were attenuated but did not level out when family factors were controlled for. Transgender identity in adolescence is associated with socioeconomic and psychosocial family factors that are known correlates of negative outcomes in mental health and psychosocial well-being. However, transgender identification is also associated with emotional disorders independent of these family factors

Experiences of sexual harassment are associated with the sexual behavior of 14-to 18-year-old adolescents

Subjection to sexual harassment is associated with a number of negative outcomes, such as internalizing and externalizing symptoms and a disinclination to attend school. Among adolescents, sexual harassment may increase with both their emerging sexual desires and increased socializing in mixed-gender peer groups during early adolescence. We set out to study the possible associations between normative and risk-taking sexual behavior and subjection to sexual harassment among adolescents between the ages of 14 and 18 years. The informants included 90,953 boys and 91,746 girls, with a mean (SD) age of 16.3 (1.2) years, who responded to a classroom survey (School Health Promotion Study 2010-2011) in Finland. We found that even early steps in romantic and erotic experiences were associated with experiences of sexual harassment. The more advanced the adolescents' sexual experiences were, the more commonly they reported differing experiences of sexual harassment. These associations were particularly strong among the girls. Among the sexually active adolescents, the more partners the adolescents had for intercourse, the more commonly they reported experiences of sexual harassment. Adolescents actively interested in romantic and sexual relationships may socialize in contexts where sexual harassment is more likely to occur. They may be more sensitive to sexual cues than their non-interested peers, or sexual harassment may be a traumatic experience predisposing adolescents to risk-taking sexual behavior as a form of acting out. A double standard regarding the appropriate expression of sexuality received some support in our data.Peer reviewe