TY - JOUR
T1 - Levels of depression in transgender people and its predictors
T2 - Results of a large matched control study with transgender people accessing clinical services
AU - Witcomb, Gemma L
AU - Bouman, Walter Pierre
AU - Claes, Laurence
AU - Brewin, Nicola
AU - Crawford, John R
AU - Arcelus, Jon
N1 - We would like to thank all of the participants for taking part in this study and support staff at the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.
PY - 2018/8/31
Y1 - 2018/8/31
N2 - BACKGROUND: Depression is a serious disorder which significantly impacts wellbeing and quality of life. Studies exploring mental wellbeing in the transgender population are mostly limited by small, non-homogenous samples and lack of matched controls. This study aimed to address these limitations and explore depression rates in a large sample of transgender people, compared with matched controls from the general population, as well as factors predicting depression in those taking cross-sex hormone treatment (CHT) compared to those not.METHODS: Transgender individuals (n = 913) completed a measure of depression, measures which predict psychopathology (self-esteem, victimization, social support, interpersonal problems), and information regarding CHT use. Participants were matched by age and experienced gender with adults from the general population who had completed the measure of depression.RESULTS: Individuals were categorized as having no, possible or probable depressive disorder. Transgender individuals not on CHT had a nearly four-fold increased risk of probable depressive disorder, compared to controls. Older age, lower self-esteem, poorer interpersonal function and less social support predicted depressive disorder. Use of CHT was associated with less depression.LIMITATIONS: Participants were attending a national gender identity service and therefore represent only a sub-group of transgender people. Due to the cross-sectional design, longitudinal research is required to fully confirm the finding that CHT use reduces depression.CONCLUSION: This study confirms that non-treated transgender individuals have an increased risk of a depressive disorder. Interventions offered alongside gender affirming treatment to develop interpersonal skills, increase self-esteem and improve social support may reduce depression and prepare individuals for a more successful transition.
AB - BACKGROUND: Depression is a serious disorder which significantly impacts wellbeing and quality of life. Studies exploring mental wellbeing in the transgender population are mostly limited by small, non-homogenous samples and lack of matched controls. This study aimed to address these limitations and explore depression rates in a large sample of transgender people, compared with matched controls from the general population, as well as factors predicting depression in those taking cross-sex hormone treatment (CHT) compared to those not.METHODS: Transgender individuals (n = 913) completed a measure of depression, measures which predict psychopathology (self-esteem, victimization, social support, interpersonal problems), and information regarding CHT use. Participants were matched by age and experienced gender with adults from the general population who had completed the measure of depression.RESULTS: Individuals were categorized as having no, possible or probable depressive disorder. Transgender individuals not on CHT had a nearly four-fold increased risk of probable depressive disorder, compared to controls. Older age, lower self-esteem, poorer interpersonal function and less social support predicted depressive disorder. Use of CHT was associated with less depression.LIMITATIONS: Participants were attending a national gender identity service and therefore represent only a sub-group of transgender people. Due to the cross-sectional design, longitudinal research is required to fully confirm the finding that CHT use reduces depression.CONCLUSION: This study confirms that non-treated transgender individuals have an increased risk of a depressive disorder. Interventions offered alongside gender affirming treatment to develop interpersonal skills, increase self-esteem and improve social support may reduce depression and prepare individuals for a more successful transition.
KW - Transgender
KW - depression
KW - self-esteem
KW - social support
KW - interpersonal function
KW - cross-sex hormone treatment
U2 - 10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.051
DO - 10.1016/j.jad.2018.02.051
M3 - Article
C2 - 29665513
VL - 235
SP - 308
EP - 315
JO - Journal of Affective Disorders
JF - Journal of Affective Disorders
SN - 0165-0327
ER -