The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) has released a position statement titled Mental Health in Adolescents with Incongruence of Gender Identity and Biological Sex. The authors reviewed over 60 studies and concluded that social transition, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones have no demonstrable, long-term benefit on psychosocial well-being of adolescents with gender dysphoria.
The paper details studies that have led many countries to reject transgender interventions in adolescents in favor of psychological treatment.
Lead author and Vice President of ACPeds, Dr. Jane Anderson says, “We urge medical professionals and parents to affirm truth about childhood gender dysphoria in the presence of harmful thoughts and address the underlying mental illness, adverse events, and family dysfunction.”
Dr. Michael Artigues, President of ACPeds, says “The studies reviewed in this paper demonstrate what many who practice medicine intuitively understand – that young patients experiencing gender dysphoria deserve help in accepting and loving themselves as they are, not interventions that destroy their healthy bodies and put them on track of medicalization for life.”
To read the Position Statement, click here. To read the fact sheet summary, click here.
