State-level gender-affirming healthcare policy and depressive symptoms among LGBTQ+ youth

IF 4.9 2区医学 Q1 PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH

Social Science & Medicine Pub Date : 2024-11-22 DOI:10.1016/j.socscimed.2024.117533

Laura M. Houghtaling , Marla E. Eisenberg , Carrie Henning-Smith , Toben Nelson , Theresa L. Osypuk

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Abstract

U.S. states vary in their level of support and protection for transgender and gender diverse youth. Few studies have examined associations between state-level policy affecting access to gender-affirming healthcare (GAC) and mental health among these youth. This study examines the association between the GAC Index, a composite index that includes four state-level policies affecting access to GAC, and individual-level depressive symptoms in a national sample of LGBTQ + adolescents (N = 10,513) cross-sectionally in 2017. Multilevel linear regression models adjusted for individual and state-level demographic and socioeconomic covariates suggest that better access to gender-affirming healthcare (a higher score on the GAC Index) is associated with a lower frequency of depressive symptoms among gender diverse youth but not transgender youth or cisgender LGBQ+ youth. This research contributes to the understanding of the association between state policy environment and mental health for transgender and gender diverse youth.

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州级性别平等医疗政策与 LGBTQ+ 青年的抑郁症状

美国各州对变性和性别多元化青少年的支持和保护程度各不相同。很少有研究考察了州一级影响获得性别确认医疗保健（GAC）的政策与这些青少年心理健康之间的关联。本研究以 2017 年全国 LGBTQ + 青少年样本（N = 10,513 人）为研究对象，横向考察了 GAC 指数（包括四项影响获得 GAC 的州级政策的综合指数）与个人层面抑郁症状之间的关联。经个人和州一级人口和社会经济协变量调整的多层次线性回归模型表明，更好地获得性别肯定的医疗保健服务（GAC指数得分越高）与性别多元化青少年抑郁症状发生频率较低有关，但与跨性别青少年或顺性LGBQ+青少年无关。这项研究有助于人们了解国家政策环境与跨性别和性别多元化青年心理健康之间的关系。

本文章由计算机程序翻译，如有差异，请以英文原文为准。

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来源期刊

Social Science & Medicine PUBLIC, ENVIRONMENTAL & OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH-

CiteScore

9.10

自引率

5.60%

发文量

762

审稿时长

38 days

期刊介绍： Social Science & Medicine provides an international and interdisciplinary forum for the dissemination of social science research on health. We publish original research articles (both empirical and theoretical), reviews, position papers and commentaries on health issues, to inform current research, policy and practice in all areas of common interest to social scientists, health practitioners, and policy makers. The journal publishes material relevant to any aspect of health from a wide range of social science disciplines (anthropology, economics, epidemiology, geography, policy, psychology, and sociology), and material relevant to the social sciences from any of the professions concerned with physical and mental health, health care, clinical practice, and health policy and organization. We encourage material which is of general interest to an international readership.