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Transgender Youth

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Adolescence

  • 173 Accesses

Overview

This essay begins with definition and clarification of the term transgender as it applies to adolescents. Next, the standards for diagnoses and clinical treatment toward sexual reassignment are addressed. Finally, the essay examines contextual factors and their links to well-being for transgender youth. The primary contexts examined in current research include family and school environments. Issues of well-being are described with a focus on health and mental health.

Introduction

Transgender is an umbrella term to describe persons who identify with or express a gender identity that differs from the assigned birth sex (Merriam-Webster 2010). A variety of circumstances may be present for an adolescent who identifies as transgender. For instance, an adolescent may experience some desires to be like the other sex such as in clothing or other elements of presentation (hair, jewelry, etc.), but may not desire to change identity or anatomy or to live as the opposite sex. The term...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Human Development, Washington State University, 644852, 99164-4852, Pullman, WA, USA

    Jenifer K. McGuire

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  1. Jenifer K. McGuire
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Correspondence to Jenifer K. McGuire .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University, 302 Sycamore Hall, Bloomington, IN, 47405, USA

    Roger J. R. Levesque

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McGuire, J.K. (2011). Transgender Youth. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_400

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-1695-2_400

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-1694-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-1695-2

  • eBook Packages: Behavioral Science

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