Study | Transgender teens more at risk of having suicidal thoughts

(Montreal) Transgender or non-binary teenagers are much more at risk than cisgender teenagers of having suicidal thoughts or attempting to take their own life, warns a study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal by researchers at the University of Ottawa.

More than half of transgender teens said they had seriously considered suicide in the 12 months preceding the survey.

In total, 14% of adolescents reported having had suicidal thoughts in the past year, and 6.8% of them admitted to having tried to end their lives. Transgender youth were five times more likely to have thought about suicide and 7.6 times more likely to have acted out than cisgender youth (those who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth).

“This is very concerning,” said study author Dr. Ian Colman of the School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa. Even though stigma is on the decline, even though we see social progress in this area, it seems that our adolescents continue to experience difficulties. »

The data studied by Dr. Colman and his colleagues came from the Canadian Survey of Child and Youth Health published by Statistics Canada in 2019. Their sample consisted of 6,800 adolescents aged 15 to 17, the vast majority of whom ( 99.4%) identified as cisgender and 0.6% as transgender.

The majority (78.6%) of survey participants were heterosexual, 14.7% were attracted to more than one gender, 4.3% were unsure of their attraction, 1.6% were girls girls and 0.8% of boys attracted to boys.

“One in five teenagers is a sexual or gender minority,” said Dr. Colman. So it’s not a small problem. »

When you consider that more than half of young transgender people have recently considered ending their lives, “it means that even if we are aware of the problem and even if we try to help them, it is not enough and we we need to do more,” he added.

The survey also found a higher proportion than previous studies of young people who report being attracted to more than one gender. Youth in this group were more than twice as likely as others to have contemplated suicide.

Adolescence can be a turbulent time, especially for young transgender people, and even those who can count on the support of those around them will not be entirely immune to the turmoil, Dr. Colman reminded ― and that is not to mention those who do not have such support and must weather the storm alone.

Thus, say the researchers, the association between suicidal ideation, suicide attempts and belonging to a sexual or gender minority is partially explained by the bullying or cyberbullying to which these young people are subjected.

The findings of the Ontario study are consistent with those of a Quebec survey, the results of which were released earlier this year, and which indicated that young people who report having an “other gender identity” could be up to three times more likely than their peers to show worrying signs for their mental health.

These young people, for example, were much more likely than others to perceive that their mental health was “fair” or “poor”; experience moderate to severe symptoms of anxiety or depression; or to have recently considered that it would be better for their life to end.

Suicide is the second leading cause of death in Canada among adolescents and young adults aged 15 to 24.