Pediatric Gender Clinic, Center for Sexology and Gender, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Pediatric Gender Clinic, Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Sexology and Gender, Ghent University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium.
Int J Impot Res. 2020 Nov;33(7):671-678. doi: 10.1038/s41443-021-00441-8. Epub 2021 May 5.
Research on gender variant children and adolescents has stirred debate on the increased amount of referrals, the sex ratio in referrals, the impact of trans care on their psychological well-being, and the amount of children/adolescents who stop treatment. This retrospective study includes the number of referrals, first contacts at the outpatient clinic and the amount of drop-outs between January 1 2007 to December 31 2016 from the sole Belgian Pediatric Gender clinic. Emotional and behavioral problems, measured by the Child Behavioral Checklist (CBCL) and the Youth Self-Report (YSR), were screened. The adolescents who ceased the counseling, were contacted for follow-up. We included 235 adolescents, referred to the clinic, and 177 (of 235) who had a first physical appointment with a psychologist. Almost one in four (24.5%) on the YSR and more than half (54.8%) on the CBCL fall within the clinical range on the total problem score. On the YSR, 40.4% reported having suicide thoughts and 32.1% reported self-harm behavior and/or at least one suicide attempt, all in the last six months. Five adolescents committed suicide. According to parents, more difficulties with peers predicts more emotional and behavioral problems (F(5, 36) = 3.539, p = 0.011). In this study group, 29 adolescents ceased the counseling, whereof 7 could be traced back in the adult gender clinic after 2016. Results are indicative of the need for mental support for trans youth and their families and moreover, highlight the need for longitudinal follow-up studies.
对性别认同障碍儿童和青少年的研究引发了诸多争议，包括转介数量的增加、转介中的性别比例、跨性别护理对他们心理健康的影响，以及停止治疗的儿童/青少年数量。本回顾性研究包括 2007 年 1 月 1 日至 2016 年 12 月 31 日期间，来自比利时唯一一家儿科性别诊所的转介数量、门诊首次就诊和辍学人数。采用儿童行为检查表（CBCL）和青少年自我报告（YSR）筛查情绪和行为问题。对停止咨询的青少年进行了随访。我们共纳入 235 名被转诊至诊所的青少年，其中 177 名（占 235 名）与心理学家进行了首次身体预约。在 YSR 中，近四分之一（24.5%）的青少年和超过一半（54.8%）的青少年在 CBCL 总分上存在临床问题。在 YSR 中，40.4%的青少年报告有自杀想法，32.1%的青少年报告有自残行为和/或至少一次自杀企图，均发生在过去六个月内。有 5 名青少年自杀。根据家长的报告，与同龄人相处的困难程度预示着更多的情绪和行为问题（F（5, 36）= 3.539，p = 0.011）。在本研究组中，有 29 名青少年停止了咨询，其中 7 名在 2016 年后可以在成人性别诊所中追踪到。研究结果表明，需要为跨性别青年及其家庭提供心理支持，此外，还需要进行纵向随访研究。
