LGBT Latest Science

Transgender Youth and Resilience April 9, 2010

For the entire article, click here Transgender Youth

Development, Risk, and Resilience of Transgender Youth

Kimberly A. Stieglitz, PhD, RN, PNP-BC
(Journal of the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care,
-, 1-15) Copyright  2010 Association of Nurses in AIDS Care

Transgender youth are a group of people who are interesting, curious, passionate, and self-motivated. Like their peers, transgender youth strive for independence and take risks. However, they experience some unique challenges in figuring out who they are and who they are attracted to in a society that does not understand them.

The stigma they face because of different gender identity expression places them at high risk for becoming victims of discrimination,verbal harassment, and physical violence.The purpose of this article is to explore and describe the literature on the childhood developmentof gender identity and social reactions to nonconforming gender behavior, which in part explain behaviors that place transgender youth at high risk for HIV infection. Related topics include a discussion of common terms used in this article, typical gender identity and sexual development, challenges to development experienced by transgender youth, and HIV risks in transgender youth. The concept of resilience is introduced as a counterbalance for assessment and intervention in practice and future research with transgender youth.