Abstract
Transgender and gender-diverse youth and their families are increasingly presenting
to adolescent gynecological providers for education, care, and referrals. These youth
more often face mental health and social disparities that frequently go unrecognized
or unaddressed by providers. A gender-affirmative approach focuses on providing emotional
validation, psychological safety, and support to young patients and their families.
With better understanding of the unique needs of transgender and gender-diverse populations,
gynecological care can be personalized and delivered in a nuanced fashion to better
address the sexual and reproductive needs of gender minority patients. In this article
we review essential psychological and social considerations in caring for transgender
and gender-diverse youth, including concepts relating to gender identity, affirmative
approaches, means of assessing for risk and resiliency, and family dynamics. Ultimately,
adolescent gynecological providers have an important role in promoting the emotional
health and positive development of transgender and gender-diverse youth.
Key Words
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: May 17, 2019
Footnotes
Michelle Forcier, MD, MPH is a paid consultant for Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts and receives author royalties from UpToDate Inc. The remaining authors indicate no conflicts of interest.
Identification
Copyright
© 2019 North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology. Published by Elsevier Inc.
