Trans Kids More Often Turn to Teachers Than Parents for Help

Key Takeaways

• Trans students are more likely to turn to school staff for support than their own families

• These students have twice or more the risk of bullying and feeling isolated at school

• They also have two to three times the risk of depression, self-harming behavior and suicidal thoughts or actions

MONDAY, Aug. 26, 2024 (HealthDay News) -- Troubled transgender students are more likely to turn to school staff than their own parents for support, a new study finds.

Trans teens feeling depressed and anxious are 74% less likely to seek help from parents than from adults at school, compared to cisgender kids, researchers reported Aug. 26 in the journal JAMA Pediatrics .

Transgender high school students also are 25% less likely to seek support from friends and 48% less likely to ask siblings for help, researchers found.

“We know schools are often sites of shame, victimization and bullying for transgender students -- but now we also know of their potential to serve as vital sites for support,” said lead researcher Mollie McQuillan, an assistant professor of educational leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“Like all students, trans and nonbinary students need support from multiple sources,” McQuillan added in a university news release. “Our results point to the critical role of PK-12 school staff in affirming and supporting trans and nonbinary students, especially when mental health concerns emerge.”

For the study, researchers analyzed risk behavior survey data on more than 92,000 Wisconsin high school students, including nearly 4,000 who identified as transgender.

Results show that trans teenagers do indeed often suffer at school.

They had twice the risk of bullying, 2.4 times the risk of skipping school because they felt unsafe and 2.7 times the risk of feeling they don’t belong at school as cisgender students do, results show.

Transgender teens also were two to three times more likely to suffer from depression, self-harming behavior and suicidal thoughts and actions, compared to their cisgender peers, researchers found.

However, the study found that schools also offer sources of support for these kids, in the form of teachers and staff.

These results highlight the danger of laws that target transgender children, McQuillan said.

“In the last five years, anti-LGBTQ+ state bills have dramatically expanded in number,” McQuillan said. “These bills dissolve and prevent school environments in which transgender students can seek and receive support that could save their lives.”

More information

Harvard Medical School has more about care for transgender children .

SOURCE: University of Wisconsin-Madison, news release, Aug. 26, 2024

What This Means For You

Parents should be aware that their transgender child might be more comfortable seeking support from an adult at school than at home.