Inside STAT: Many studies don’t ask about gender identity. Experts want to change that

(MOLLY FERGUSON FOR STAT)

Research has repeatedly suggested that transgender youth are at an increased risk for suicidal thoughts and suicide attempts compared to their cisgender peers. But studies of adolescent mental health routinely fail to ask these teens about their gender identities or lump transgender teens into one big group. Now, some researchers are trying to change this by asking more comprehensive questions about gender identity. In a recent paper, researchers asked teens about both their current gender identity and their gender assigned at birth. Those questions revealed disparities hidden under the umbrella definition of transgender — for instance, that transgender boys were at the highest risk of a suicide attempt requiring medical attention, while transgender girls were six times more likely than cis boys to have suicidal thoughts. STAT’s Megan Thielking has more here.