Transgender kids often have it rough. In a world that isn't crazy about people's differences, and often metes out severe consequences for such dissimilarities, trans children can find themselves targets of mental and physical attacks. (In one of the most egregious cases, an 18-year-old agender child was set ablaze on a bus in Oakland, California.) Fortunately, parents can help, basically just by being parents: According to a new study, trans kids whose parents support them in their gender identity are no more anxious or depressed than the rest of us.
Studies of mental health among transgender people "consistently report dramatically elevated rates of anxiety, depression, and suicidality," University of Washington assistant professor of psychology Kristina Olson and her colleagues write in Pediatrics. "These elevated rates of psychopathology are likely the result of years of prejudice, discrimination, and stigma; conflict between one’s appearance and stated identity; and general rejection by people in their social environments, including their families."
[For more of this story, written by Nathan Collins, go to http://www.psmag.com/health-an...s-kids-are-all-right]
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