Bennett David S, Borczon Eileen, Lewis Michael
Department of Psychiatry Drexel University.
Department of Psychiatry, Drexel University.
Sex Roles. 2019 Oct;81(7-8):521-528. doi: 10.1007/s11199-019-1010-4. Epub 2019 Feb 1.
Gender nonconforming behavior (GNB) is a risk factor for poorer psychological adjustment, but little is known about whether preschool-age children displaying GNB are at risk for depressive symptoms during adolescence. We examined maternal report of GNB at age 4-5 years-old as a predictor of adolescents' depressive symptoms at age 16-17 years-old in a longitudinal study of U.S. children from a predominantly low SES (61% received Aid to Families with Dependent Children) and African American (90%) sample. Youth with GNB in early childhood ( = 10) reported more depressive symptoms during adolescence than did their peers without GNB ( = 115), and this relationship remained after controlling for covariates (environmental risk, prenatal exposure, and neonatal medical problems). Our findings suggest that early GNB may be a risk factor for the development of depressive symptoms in adolescence. Further research is needed to replicate the current findings with a larger sample and to identify the underlying mechanisms by which GNB may increase risk for depressive symptoms. If replicated, the findings further highlight the need for both professionals and parents to become aware of the potential challenges that children with GNB face and to become knowledgeable about ways to facilitate healthy adjustment among gender nonconforming youth.
性别不符行为（GNB）是心理调适较差的一个风险因素，但对于表现出GNB的学龄前儿童在青少年期是否有患抑郁症状的风险却知之甚少。在一项对美国儿童的纵向研究中，我们将4至5岁时母亲报告的GNB作为16至17岁青少年抑郁症状的预测指标，这些儿童主要来自低社会经济地位（61%领取抚养儿童家庭补助）且非裔美国人占多数（90%）的样本。幼儿期有GNB的青少年（n = 10）在青少年期报告的抑郁症状比没有GNB的同龄人（n = 115）更多，在控制协变量（环境风险、产前暴露和新生儿医疗问题）后，这种关系依然存在。我们的研究结果表明，早期的GNB可能是青少年期抑郁症状发展的一个风险因素。需要进一步的研究以更大的样本复制当前的研究结果，并确定GNB可能增加抑郁症状风险的潜在机制。如果研究结果得到复制，将进一步凸显专业人士和家长都需要意识到性别不符儿童面临的潜在挑战，并了解促进性别不符青少年健康调适的方法。
