CNA Staff, Feb 7, 2024 / 18:40 pm (CNA).
Based on a review of more than 60 studies related to the mental health of adolescents, the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) has concluded that social transition, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones “have no demonstrable, long-term benefit on psychosocial well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria.”
ACPeds President Dr. Michael Artigues said the organization’s review of the referenced research points to “what many who practice medicine intuitively understand, that young patients experiencing gender dysphoria deserve help in accepting and loving themselves as they are, not interventions that destroy their healthy bodies and put them on track of medicalization for life.”
The principal authors of the research review, led by ACPeds Vice President Jane Anderson, expressed their grave concern “that parents, along with health care and educational professionals who support the transgender ‘transition’ of children and adolescents are, in fact, contributing to increased depression by appearing to validate to the children that ‘something is wrong with their body and biological sex.’”
The pediatricians concluded that “there is no long-term evidence that current ‘gender affirming’ medication and surgical protocols benefit their mental well-being. High rates of suicide attempts and/or completions in those who have received ‘gender affirming’ interventions indicate that at minimum, long-term controlled trials should be conducted if these interventions are to be continued.”
In lieu of social affirmation, medical intervention, or surgical mutilation of children and adolescents identifying as transgender or gender nonconforming, the pediatricians recommended “intensive psychotherapy for the individual and family to determine and hopefully treat the underlying etiology of their gender incongruence.”
The pediatricians also said “more attention and support should be afforded to individuals seeking help in detransitioning after having made a decision during their formative adolescent years with lifelong consequences.”
“We urge medical professionals and parents to affirm the truth about childhood gender dysphoria in the presence of harmful thoughts and address the underlying mental illness, adverse events, and family dysfunction,” Anderson emphasized.
Burgeoning mental illness
Youth who identify as a gender other than their biological sex have high rates of mental health issues “regardless of any affirmation of their gender identities,” the group said.
“This is particularly serious given the exponential increase in the number of adolescents identifying as ‘transgender’ in the past decade,” they continued.
Citing U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) data, the doctors said that in 2015, 11% of adolescents identified as “bisexual, gay, or otherwise questioning,” while in 2021 that number rose to 25%.
Research contradicts value of ‘social affirmation’
The idea that social affirmation, such as using an individual’s desired pronoun, could aid the long-term “psychosocial well-being” of an adolescent identifying as transgender is contradicted by research, the organization said.
“One of the earliest studies matched 73 ‘transgender’ children between 3–12 years with 73 gender-matched community controls that included 49 siblings of the ‘transgender’ children,” the pediatricians reported.
In that study, parental reports indicated similar rates of depression in each group, but “slight increases” of anxiety in children who identified as transgender. The organization noted that “this study did not provide evidence that social ‘transitioning’ improved psychological well-being.”
Cautions against puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones
Hormone therapy intended to prevent children from going through puberty has failed to produce any “significant benefits” for gender incongruent youth, the doctors said.
One study of 20,619 transgender adults cited by the organization compared individuals who used puberty blockers as adolescents with those who had not. Both had extremely high suicide ideation and attempt rates all above 40%.
The group also pointed to studies from various countries indicating that cross-sex hormones “result in little mental health benefit” while adding that “these chemical interventions were associated with greater use of psychiatric services than patients who were not treated with hormones.”
The statement said that the NHS, the health care system in England, conducted “a systematic review” of cross-sex hormone treatment for gender dysphoria and its impact on mental health.
The NHS concluded that “[a]ny potential benefits of gender-affirming hormones must be weighed against the largely unknown long-term safety profile of these treatments in children and adolescents with gender dysphoria.”
Seeking positive outcomes
Citing several studies, the pediatric group found that many adolescents who have undergone either hormonal or surgical transitions “later embraced their biological sex as their gender.”
The University of Toronto conducted a study of 7.5-year-old boys referred for gender dysphoria who were followed for an average of 20 years. Most, 87.8%, had their gender dysphoria stop. The far minority, 12.2%, had it persist.
“Gender-dysphoric youth need to have mental illness, adverse childhood events, and family dysfunction dealt with and need the reassurance to embrace their biological sex as their gender identity and to avoid the harmful consequences of ‘transgender-affirming’ interventions,” the pediatricians concluded.
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Gathering feathers in the wind…
The transgender bandwagon began with an erroneous study that was retracted by the same authors only a year later. That was four years ago!…
For the record, the authors of a 2019 study which claimed so-called gender-transition surgery may improve the long-term mental health of recipients issued a CORRECTION nearly a year after publication: “the results demonstrated no advantage of surgery in relation to subsequent mood or anxiety disorder-related health care.” Also, “Individuals diagnosed with gender incongruence who had received gender-affirming surgery were more likely to be treated for anxiety disorders compared with individuals diagnosed with gender incongruence who had not received gender-affirming surgery.”
Here’s the link: https://www.catholicworldreport.com/2020/08/04/researchers-reverse-gender-surgery-offers-no-advantage-to-mental-health/
This just in: A panel of experts has determined that the sun does indeed rise in the east!!!
Film at 11
Thank God for these pediatricians! My heart breaks for children whose misguided and ignorant parents allow them to suffer physical, mental, and emotional damage and think they are being progressive and “science-based.” And I am angry that teachers, medical professionals, researchers and others who are involved with children have been encouraged by political activists and revolutionaries to not inform parents that the child is seeking transition surgery and medication. The measurable evidence (e.g., increased suicide rate of children and teens) makes it clear that this issue needs to be scrupulously examined by scientists, mental health professionals, clergy, education experts, etc. with the goal of arriving at a conclusion based on real science, not political ambition and social revolution.