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Gender nonconformity and common mental health problems: A meta-analysis
Yin Xu1, Jinghao Feng1, Qazi Rahman2
1Department of Sociology & Psychology, School of Public Administration, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China.
Clinical Psychology Review
|September 11, 2024
Summary
Gender nonconformity is linked to increased anxiety, depression, and self-harm, alongside lower self-esteem. These associations are stronger in men and adolescents, highlighting a need for targeted mental health interventions.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Mental Health Research
- Sociology
Background:
- Gender nonconformity is increasingly recognized as a factor influencing mental health.
- Previous research indicates potential links between gender nonconformity and adverse psychological outcomes.
- A comprehensive understanding of these associations across various mental health conditions is crucial.
Purpose of the Study:
- To conduct an exhaustive meta-analysis on the association between gender nonconformity and common mental health outcomes.
- To quantify the strength of these associations across generalized anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, self-esteem, self-harm attempts, and suicide attempts.
- To explore potential moderators, including sex, type of gender nonconformity, age, and sexual orientation.
Main Methods:
- Searched PsycInfo, ProQuest Central, EBSCOhost, and PubMed for eligible studies.
- Included studies with cross-sectional or longitudinal designs, identified 1975 articles, and selected studies following PRISMA guidelines.
- Performed random-effects meta-analyses stratified by mental health outcomes, with large total sample sizes for each outcome.
Main Results:
- Higher gender nonconformity correlated with increased generalized anxiety (r=0.06), depressive symptoms (r=0.11), self-harm attempts (r=0.17), and suicide attempts (r=0.14).
- Lower self-esteem (r=0.18) was associated with higher gender nonconformity.
- Associations were stronger in men than women, with behaviors-based nonconformity showing stronger links to depression and self-esteem than traits-based.
- Depressive symptom associations were larger in adolescents than children; sexual orientation was not a significant moderator.
Conclusions:
- Gender nonconformity is robustly associated with common mental health problems, with varying effect sizes across outcomes and sex.
- Interventions are needed to address mental health disparities and enhance well-being for individuals exhibiting gender nonconformity.
- Further research may explore the nuances of these associations in diverse populations and developmental stages.
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