Support from school and family is associated with better mental health among transgender and non-binary Quebecers aged 14 to 25, found a researcher from CHU Sainte-Justine. He urges the Quebec government to invest more in raising awareness and education on gender diversity.
For these people, being well supported by the family environment is also linked to a lower risk of having suicidal thoughts and attempting suicide, says Dr.r Nicholas Chadi, pediatrician and clinician-researcher specializing in adolescent medicine at CHU Sainte-Justine.
Pour their study published in mid-February in the journal LGBT Healththe Dr Chadi and his colleagues — including Kira London-Nadeau, who is the first author — were interested in the responses of the 220 Quebecers aged 14 to 25 who participated in an online survey conducted in 2018 and 2019 among more than 1,000 young people. Canadians.
These results are important because they indicate that the school and the family – which both occupy an important place in the lives of young people – can really make a difference, underlines the one who is also co-director of the clinic of gender diversity of the CHU Saint Justine.
Overall, transgender and non-binary youth have more mental health issues than others, the pediatrician argued. “Recognizing or better understanding one’s identity can lead to many questions and can lead to moments of depression or anxiety where one wonders ‘Who am I deep down?’ In 2023, there is also still stigma around trans identity in some circles, he added.
Thus, 92% of young transgender or non-binary English-speaking Quebecers who were surveyed said that their mental health was poor or average. Among Francophones, this proportion is 72%. “It is certainly concerning. Is it a question that in English-speaking environments, either at school or in the family, there is less support? It’s a possibility, but we don’t know exactly,” notes the Dr Chad.
Raise awareness and educate
Maël Ste-Marie Raymond, who is 17, says that following his coming out, regarding five years ago, her transition to a non-binary identity happened quite quickly thanks to the support of her family. ” I was lucky. But it pains me a lot to call it luck, because young people shouldn’t lack support from family or school. »
Maël, on the other hand, experienced depressive episodes between the ages of 13 and 16. “It’s not always easy to make a transition. You have a lot of stress and a lot of distress too, because the way you perceive your body does not correspond to how you feel. But also, the way people perceive us because of our body is incorrect. They don’t see us in the right way. »
Fortunately, resources were at his disposal to help him get through this ordeal.
At school, there is a lack of education in gender diversity, deplores all the same Maël, who lives in Estrie. “I had teachers who were really supportive, and I had the school psychologist, who was really fantastic. But at school as such, it’s really difficult, because it’s a whole system. And trying to change the system is really not easy. »
The Dr Chadi, however, notes significant progress in society, such as the fact that more and more schools are offering workshops on gender diversity to teachers and students. “On the other hand, there are still places in certain schools where it is difficult for young people to be able to choose their first name and pronoun. They come up once morest resistance. »
Sometimes transgender or non-binary young people are bullied or rejected at school, he continues. “Sometimes there is also no easy access to bathrooms that are gender neutral or match the person’s gender,” he adds.
Quebec must invest so that there is more awareness and education on these issues not only in schools, but also in the rest of the population, according to the researcher.
“Long waiting times”
The Dr Chadi also raises the crying need, for young trans and non-binary people, for medical and psychosocial services that serve to support them in their gender affirmation process. “These services are mostly limited to big cities, in specialized clinics,” he said. And there can be very long waiting times. »
Quebec must provide support and training to health professionals in order to make these services available throughout the territory, he said.
Contacted by The duty, the office of the Minister responsible for the Status of Women and the fight once morest homophobia and transphobia, Martine Biron, said it was “very sensitive to the realities of trans and non-binary people”. “While the 2017-2023 Government Action Plan to Combat Homophobia and Transphobia will soon end, we will take the time to turn over all the stones to carefully consider all the means of supporting the LGBTQ community in the next one”, supported Catherine Boucher, press officer of Mme Biron.
For its part, the Ministry of Health and Social Services said it was “concerned regarding the situation of trans and non-binary young people experiencing distress related to their gender identity or gender expression”. “Avenues will be proposed to better take their reality into consideration,” wrote Marie-Hélène Émond, head of media relations.
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