Thirty percent of transgender students attempt suicide, finds a new study by the Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and many other such students show problems at school.
Medical-center researchers analyzed the medical records of 96 transgender students ages 12 to 22 who had visited the hospital’s transgender clinic since 2013.
They found students transitioning from female to male were at higher risk for self-harm than those transitioning from male to female; boys in general have higher suicide rates than girls. More than 60 percent of all the transgender students had a history of being bullied at school, more than 19 percent had gotten into fights at school, and nearly a quarter had been suspended or expelled. More than 17 percent also reported repeating a grade at school.
The authors suggest that professionals who work with the students should be aware of warning signs of depression and self-harm, particularly for those who express problems or concern over the way they look with regard to gender. The study was published in August in the journal Suicide and Life Threatening Behavior.
