Assessment of Psychological Distress and Peer Relations among Trans Adolescents-An Examination of the Use of Gender Norms and Parent-Child Congruence of the YSR-R/CBCL-R among a Treatment-Seeking Sample

Alexandra Brecht; Sascha Bos; Laura Ries; Sibylle M Winter; Claudia Calvano

doi:10.3390/children8100864

Assessment of Psychological Distress and Peer Relations among Trans Adolescents-An Examination of the Use of Gender Norms and Parent-Child Congruence of the YSR-R/CBCL-R among a Treatment-Seeking Sample

Children (Basel). 2021 Sep 28;8(10):864. doi: 10.3390/children8100864.

Authors

Alexandra Brecht¹, Sascha Bos¹, Laura Ries¹, Sibylle M Winter¹, Claudia Calvano^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and Berlin Insitute of Health, 13353 Berlin, Germany.
² Department of Education and Psychology, Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology and Psychotherapy, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany.

Abstract

Among trans adolescents, increased psychological distress is reported in the literature. The goal of this study was to examine psychological distress, associated peer relations and parent report congruence among the treatment-seeking sample of the Gender Identity Special Consultation (GISC) for youth at the Charité Berlin. Further, differences between the instruments' binary gender norms were investigated. Retrospectively, we analyzed clinical data derived from the GISC. By initial interviews and using the Youth Self-Report and Child Behavior Checklist, n = 50 trans adolescents aged 12-18 years (M = 15.5) were examined for psychological problems and peer relations. Congruence between self and parent report was analyzed by correlations. Half of the sample reported suicidality, self-harm and bullying. Trans adolescents showed significantly higher internalizing and total problems than the German norm population. The congruence between self and parent report proved to be moderate to high. The level of congruence and poor peer relations were identified as predictors of internalizing problems. Significant differences between the female vs. male gender norms emerged regarding mean scores and the number of clinically significant cases. Data provide valuable implications for intervention on a peer and family level. There are limitations to the suitability of questionnaires that use binary gender norms, and further research on adequate instruments and assessment is needed.

Keywords: YSR-R/CBCL-R; gender minority stress; internalizing problems; parental congruence; peer relations; psychological distress; trans adolescents.