447 - Loneliness, Self-esteem, and Perceived Stress in Transgender and Gender-diverse Adolescent and Young Adults Seeking Gender-affirming care
Friday, April 28, 2023
5:15 PM – 7:15 PM ET
Poster Number: 447 Publication Number: 447.1
Becca Warwick, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, MI, United States; Ellen Selkie, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health, Madison, WI, United States
Adolescent Medicine Fellow University of Michigan Medical School Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Background: Low self-esteem, perceived stress, and loneliness are measures of psychological well-being that are associated with negative mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety, and suicidality. Objective: This study quantified and compared self-esteem, perceived stress, and loneliness scores in adolescent and young adults (AYA) of differing minority gender identities (transfeminine, transmasculine, genderqueer or nonconforming, or nonbinary) presenting to a gender-clinic. Design/Methods: AYA were recruited from Midwestern gender clinic to participate in a research survey database. Average age of participants was 16.9 years old +/- 2 years. 90.4% identified as white, 7.2% as LatinX, 5.6% as Black, 2.4% of Asian, and 1.6% as Native American. Three psychological tools were used to measure loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale), self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), and perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale). Collected data was analyzed and t-tests were used to examine differences between gender identities. Results: Transfeminine, transmasculine, queer/gender nonconforming, and nonbinary identified AYA had moderate degrees of loneliness (M = 45.88, SD = 11.63) and normal self-esteem (M = 23.90, SD = 1.73) that were not statistically significantly different. Transfeminine, transmasculine, queer/gender nonconforming, and nonbinary identified AYA also had moderate levels of stress. However, transfeminine identified AYA had statistically significant lower levels of perceived stress (M = 28.52, SD = 8.41) in comparison to both queer/gender nonconforming ((M = 32.68, SD = 6.83); t(87) = 2.29, p= 0.025) and nonbinary identified AYA ((M = 31.95, SD = 6.14); t(104) = 2.32, p= 0.023).
Conclusion(s): AYA identifying as queer/gender nonconforming and nonbinary may experience different levels of minority stress and discrimination in comparison to binary identities in AYA. This is informing with respect to clinical assessment, treatment, and screening for mental health issues in this population.
