Transgenders transitioning to males more suicide prone

Transgender youths who are transitioning from female to male tend to commit suicide more than those transitioning from male to female, a new research has found.

According to the research, published in the journal Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 30 per cent of transgender youth report a history of at least one suicide attempt and nearly 42 per cent report a history of self-injury, such as cutting of wrists.

The study, conducted by Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center also discovered a higher frequency of suicide attempts among transgender youth who are dissatisfied with their weight.

"Our study provides further evidence for the at-risk nature of transgender youth and emphasises that mental health providers and physicians working with this population need to be aware of these challenges," said Claire Peterson, Psychologist at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

"Dissatisfaction with one's appearance and the drive to look different from one's sex assigned at birth is central to gender dysphoria -- the feeling that your gender identity is different from that at birth," Peterson added.

The researchers analysed data from the medical records of 96 transgender patients, ages 12 to 22, with gender dysphoria and found that 58 per cent had at least one additional psychiatric diagnosis in addition to gender dysphoria.

According to the study, nearly 63 per cent indicated a history of bullying, 23.1 per cent a history of school suspension or expulsion, 19.3 per cent involvement in physical fights and 17.1 per cent repeating a grade in school.

--IANS

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