A recent study out of the University of Texas at Austin “found that when transgender youths are allowed to use their chosen name in places such as work, school and at home, their risk of depression and suicide drops.”
According to the lead author of the study, Stephen T. Russell, youth who are able to use their chosen name in social and family contexts had a direct correlation in the drop of depression, decrease in suicidal thoughts, and decrease in suicidal attempts reported. This choice supported stronger mental health outcomes among survey respondents. And, asking for someone’s preferred name is something relatively simple for institutions to enact to show respect and help affirm one’s identity at a tenuous developmental time when that is needed most.
Prior research out of UT Austin has also examined the rate of suicidal thoughts experienced by transgender youth compared to their peers (with results nearly twice as high for transgender youth).
You can read the full story from the University of Texas at Austin’s news service: https://news.utexas.edu/2018/03/30/name-use-matters-for-transgender-youths-mental-health.
EM PIKE 