138 - Desire for gender-affirming medical care before age 18 among transgender and nonbinary young adults

Poster Number: 138
Publication Number: 138.97

Background: Access to gender-affirming medical care (GAMC) is associated with improved mental health outcomes, however little prior research has explored transgender and nonbinary (TNB) individuals’ interest in receiving this care as adolescents.

Objective: We aimed to understand whether TNB young adults seeking care desired to receive GAMC before age 18, and identify barriers and facilitators to receiving this care in adolescence.

Design/Methods: A cross-sectional survey was administered to TNB young adults presenting for care between ages 18-20. Descriptive statistics characterized the sample, chi2 tests with post-hoc pairwise comparisons identified differences in desire for gender-affirming medications, outness, and parental consent by gender identity, and t-tests evaluated differences in barriers and facilitators to receiving care by outness to parents.

Results: A total of 230 TNB respondents had complete data. Nearly all (94.3%) indicated they desired GAMC before age 18. Half (55.7%) of respondents reported being out about their gender identity to a parent before age 18. Outness (p < 0.01), discussing desire for gender-affirming medical care (p < 0.001), and asking for consent to receive GAMC from a parent (p < 0.01) were significantly more common among participants who identified as men compared to those who identified as women. Lack of parental willingness to consent for GAMC was cited as the primary contributor of not having received care in adolescence.

Conclusion(s): TNB young adults desire GAMC in adolescence, however lack of parental support is a key barrier to receiving this care, suggesting a need for more readily available resources for parents to support TNB adolescents.