The health and well-being of transgender high school students: results from the New Zealand adolescent health survey (Youth'12).
OBJECTIVE
To report the prevalence of students according to four gender groups (i.e., those who reported being non-transgender, transgender, or not sure about their gender, and those who did not understand the transgender question), and to describe their health and well-being.


METHODS
Logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between gender groups and selected outcomes in a nationally representative high school health and well-being survey, undertaken in 2012.


RESULTS
Of the students (n = 8,166), 94.7% reported being non-transgender, 1.2% reported being transgender, 2.5% reported being not sure about their gender, and 1.7% did not understand the question. Students who reported being transgender or not sure about their gender or did not understand the question had compromised health and well-being relative to their non-transgender peers; in particular, for transgender students perceiving that a parent cared about them (odds ratio [OR], .3; 95% confidence interval [CI], .2-.4), depressive symptoms (OR, 5.7; 95% CI, 3.6-9.2), suicide attempts (OR, 5.0; 95% CI, 2.9-8.8), and school bullying (OR, 4.5; 95% CI, 2.4-8.2).


CONCLUSIONS
This is the first nationally representative survey to report the health and well-being of students who report being transgender. We found that transgender students and those reporting not being sure are a numerically small but important group. Transgender students are diverse and are represented across demographic variables, including their sexual attractions. Transgender youth face considerable health and well-being disparities. It is important to address the challenging environments these students face and to increase access to responsive services for transgender youth.
School of Nursing, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand. Electronic address: t.clark@auckland.ac.nz.
Terryann C
TC
Clark
Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Mathijs F G
MF
Lucassen
School of Learning, Development, and Professional Practice, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Pat
P
Bullen
Department of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Simon J
SJ
Denny
Department of Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand; Department of Paediatrics: Child and Youth Health, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Theresa M
TM
Fleming
Auckland Uniservices Limited, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Elizabeth M
EM
Robinson
Centre for Gambling Studies, Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand.
Fiona V
FV
Rossen
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000502:physiology / Q000523:psychology*; D058445:Bullying / Q000523:psychology; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000453:epidemiology*; D030881:Disclosure; D005239:Fear / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D009520:New Zealand / Q000453:epidemiology; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010379:Peer Group; D012309:Risk-Taking; D057566:Self Report; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013406:Suicide, Attempted / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D063106:Transgender Persons / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
Adolescent; Health; Sexuality; Transgender; Well-Being