Childhood Gender Nonconformity: A Risk Indicator for Childhood Abuse and Posttraumatic Stress in Youth
Top Cited Papers
- 1 March 2012
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in PEDIATRICS
- Vol. 129 (3), 410-417
- https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-1804
Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Childhood gender nonconformity has been associated with poorer relationships with parents, but it is unknown if childhood gender nonconformity is associated with childhood abuse or risk of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in youth.METHODS: We examined whether gender nonconformity before age 11 years was associated with childhood sexual, physical, and psychological abuse and lifetime risk of probable PTSD by using self-report questionnaire data from the 2007 wave of the Growing Up Today Study (n = 9864, mean age = 22.7 years), a longitudinal cohort of US youth. We further examined whether higher exposure to childhood abuse mediated possible elevated prevalence of PTSD in nonconforming children. Finally, we examined whether association of childhood gender nonconformity with PTSD was independent of sexual orientation.RESULTS: Exposure to childhood physical, psychological, and sexual abuse, and probable PTSD were elevated in youth in the top decile of childhood gender nonconformity compared with youth below median nonconformity. Abuse victimization disparities partly mediated PTSD disparities by gender nonconformity. Gender nonconformity predicted increased risk of lifetime probable PTSD in youth after adjustment for sexual orientation.CONCLUSIONS: We identify gender nonconformity as an indicator of children at increased risk of abuse and probable PTSD. Pediatricians and school health providers should consider abuse screening for this vulnerable population. Further research to understand how gender nonconformity might increase risk of abuse and to develop family interventions to reduce abuse risk is needed.This publication has 58 references indexed in Scilit:
- Gender Nonconformity, Sexual Orientation, and Psychological Well-BeingArchives of Sexual Behavior, 2011
- Abuse in Childhood and Adolescence As a Predictor of Type 2 Diabetes in Adult WomenAmerican Journal of Preventive Medicine, 2010
- Race/ethnic differences in exposure to traumatic events, development of post-traumatic stress disorder, and treatment-seeking for post-traumatic stress disorder in the United StatesPsychological Medicine, 2010
- A Meta-Analytic Review of the Effects of Childhood Abuse on Medical Outcomes in AdulthoodPsychosomatic Medicine, 2009
- Child Abuse and Smoking Among Young Women: The Importance of Severity, Accumulation, and TimingJournal of Adolescent Health, 2008
- Childhood Gender Nonconformity and Harassment as Predictors of Suicidality among Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual AustriansArchives of Sexual Behavior, 2007
- Sexual Orientation, Sexual Abuse, and HIV-Risk Behaviors Among Adolescents in the Pacific NorthwestAmerican Journal of Public Health, 2006
- Self‐Perceived Gender Typicality and the Peer Context During AdolescenceJournal of Research on Adolescence, 2006
- Interpersonal violence and its correlates in Vietnam veterans with chronic posttraumatic stress disorderJournal of Clinical Psychology, 1997
- Longitudinal data analysis using generalized linear modelsBiometrika, 1986