Gender-affirming medical treatment for adolescents: a critical reflection on "effective" treatment outcomes.

Background: The scrutiny surrounding gender-affirming medical treatment (GAMT) for youth has increased, particularly concerning the limited evidence on long-term treatment outcomes. The Standards of Care 8 by the World Professional Association for Transgender Health addresses this by outlining research evidence suggesting "effective" outcomes of GAMT for adolescents. However, claims concerning what are considered "effective" outcomes of GAMT for adolescents remain implicit, requiring further reflection.

Unequal geographies of gender-affirming care: A comparative typology of trans-specific healthcare systems across Europe.

Rationale: Gender-affirming healthcare can carry significant benefits for trans people. However, there are substantial geographical inequalities in the provision of and access to trans-specific healthcare across Europe. Comparative healthcare systems research has typically focused on universal services, neglecting provision which serves specific groups within populations (e.

Stigma salience increases loneliness among ethnic minorities.

Research shows that ethnic minorities are at increased risk of loneliness compared to the general population of the United Kingdom. We hypothesized that stigma salience increases loneliness among ethnic minorities, conducting two experimental studies with ethnic minorities (Study 1: N = 134, Study 2: N = 267) in which participants were randomly assigned to a stigma salience (recalling a personal experience of discrimination based on ethnicity) or control condition (recalling a past meal in Study 1 and the experience of reading a book in Study 2). Across these two studies, we demonstrated that stigma salience consistently increased self-reported loneliness relative to the control conditions.

On social health: history, conceptualization, and population patterning.

We propose a psychologically-informed concept of to join physical and mental components in a more comprehensive assessment of human health. Although there is an extensive literature on the importance of social relationships to health, a theoretical framework is needed to coalesce this work into a codified conceptualisation of social health, defined here as . Informing this novel conceptualisation, we outline eight key propositions to guide future research and theory on social health, including five propositions focused on the conceptualisation of social health and three focused on its population patterning.

Racial socialization and discrimination-related psychological distress in middle-aged Black men and women.

Our objectives were to evaluate gender-specific associations of racial discrimination with psychological sequelae among middle-aged Blacks and to evaluate the capacity of racial socialization to moderate the association between discrimination and psychological distress, accounting for relevant prospectively assessed childhood factors. We used data from the Child Health and Development Disparities Study that followed a Northern California-based group of Blacks from the prenatal period through midlife ( = 244, 49.6% female).

A systematic review of psychosocial functioning changes after gender-affirming hormone therapy among transgender people.

This systematic review assessed the state and quality of evidence for effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy on psychosocial functioning. Forty-six relevant journal articles (six qualitative, 21 cross-sectional, 19 prospective cohort) were identified. Gender-affirming hormone therapy was consistently found to reduce depressive symptoms and psychological distress.

Benevolent and hostile sexism in a shifting global context.

The theory of and research on ambivalent sexism - which encompasses both attitudes that are overtly negative (hostile sexism) and those that seem subjectively positive but are actually harmful (benevolent sexism) - have made substantial contributions to understanding how sexism operates and the consequences it has for women. It is now clear that sexism takes different forms, some of which can be disguised as protection and flattery. However, all forms of sexism have negative effects on how women are perceived and treated by others as well as on women themselves.

Transgender identity: Development, management and affirmation.

In this review, I discuss recent research on transgender identity development, management and affirmation, situating key topics within a social feedback model of transgender identity. This model foregrounds the dynamic interplay between internal and external influences on transgender identity. Furthermore, issues of intersectionality are highlighted throughout and located within broader socio-political contexts.

"Data is the new oil": citizen science and informed consent in an era of researchers handling of an economically valuable resource.

As with other areas of the social world, academic research in the contemporary healthcare setting has undergone adaptation and change. For example, research methods are increasingly incorporating citizen participation in the research process, and there has been an increase in collaborative research that brings academic and industry partners together. There have been numerous positive outcomes associated with both of these growing methodological and collaborative processes; nonetheless, both bring with them ethical considerations that require careful thought and attention.

Identity-Related Factors Protect Well-Being Against Stigma for Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People.

Relatively little is known about identity-related resilience factors associated with well-being among transgender and gender non-conforming (TGNC) people. Drawing upon theory on stigma-related stress and resilience and work examining group identification as a buffer against discrimination, the aim of the current study was to model perceived discrimination, transgender identification, and gender identity affirmation as predictors of well-being for TGNC people. We also tested whether the positive association between gender identity affirmation and well-being might be explained by the benefits affirmation has for individual self-concept clarity.

Social relationship experiences of transgender people and their relational partners: A meta-synthesis.

Rationale: Social relationships are important in bolstering health and well-being for everyone in the general population. For transgender people, strong supportive social relationships may be paramount to their overall health and well-being due to their marginalised status in society.

Objective: This review aimed to investigate what is currently known about the social relationship experiences of transgender people and their relational partners (e.

Sexual orientation, disclosure, and cardiovascular stress reactivity.

Stigma may strain the heart health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals. To date, however, LGB-related differences in cardiovascular diagnosis, risk factors, and basal biomarkers are inconsistently reported. Using a laboratory-based stress paradigm, the current study assessed whether cardiovascular stress reactivity differs as a function of sexual orientation and disclosure status ("coming out") in a sample of healthy young LGB and heterosexual adults.

The Gay Community Involvement Index: An Exploratory Factor Analysis and Initial Validation of a New Measure of Gay Community Involvement.

This article details initial measure development, exploratory factor analysis, and preliminary validation of the Gay Community Involvement Index (GCII) across two studies. Previous research on gay community involvement has relied on measures that do not distinguish between distinct ways in which men may be involved in the gay community (e.g.

Stigma Consciousness Modulates Cortisol Reactivity to Social Stress in Women.

The aim of the current study was to examine whether stigma consciousness shapes cortisol responses to social stress among women in the lab. Undergraduate women ( = 45) completed background measures and then participated in a public speaking task, with assessments of cortisol prior to the stressor as well as 20- and 40-minutes post stressor onset. Results from multilevel models revealed that women higher in stigma consciousness evidenced blunted cortisol reactivity following social stress across the study session compared to women lower in stigma consciousness.

Modeling racial disparities in physical health via close relationship functioning: A life course approach.

Objective: The aim of the present study was to test a life course model in which racial disparities in physical health between Caucasian and African Americans are driven by disparities in close relationship functioning. This model also examined relative evidence for intergenerational transmission of relationship functioning and ongoing exposure to prejudice and discrimination as two pathways that might shape adult relationship functioning.

Method: A sample of 523 Caucasian and African American men and women were prospectively tracked from a birth cohort initiated in the 1960s.

Anxiety sensitivity and racial differences in sleep duration: Results from a national survey of adults with cardiovascular disease.

Although Blacks sleep between 37 and 75min less per night than non-Hispanic Whites, research into what drives racial differences in sleep duration is limited. We examined the association of anxiety sensitivity, a cognitive vulnerability, and race (Blacks vs. White) with short sleep duration (<7h of sleep/night), and whether anxiety sensitivity mediated race differences in sleep duration in a nationally representative sample of adults with cardiovascular disease.

Minority stress and inflammatory mediators: covering moderates associations between perceived discrimination and salivary interleukin-6 in gay men.

Physical health disparities by sexual orientation are widespread yet under-investigated. Drawing upon theories of biological embedding of social adversity, we tested whether minority stress (in the form of perceived discrimination) is associated with salivary interleukin-6 (IL-6), an inflammatory mediator. Furthermore, we examined whether covering, a strategy involving downplaying a stigmatized social identity, modified this association.

Perceived Discrimination and Social Relationship Functioning among Sexual Minorities: Structural Stigma as a Moderating Factor.

Work on structural stigma shows how public policy affects health outcomes for members of devalued groups, including sexual minorities. In the current research, structural stigma is proposed as a moderating variable that strengthens deleterious associations between perceived discrimination and social relationship functioning. Hypotheses were tested in two cross-sectional studies, including both online (N = 214; Study 1) and community (N = 94; Study 2) samples of sexual minority men and women residing throughout the United States.

Disparities in Social Health by Sexual Orientation and the Etiologic Role of Self-Reported Discrimination.

Some past work indicates that sexual minorities may experience impairments in social health, or the perceived and actual availability and quality of one's social relationships, relative to heterosexuals; however, research has been limited in many ways. Furthermore, it is important to investigate etiological factors that may be associated with these disparities, such as self-reported discrimination. The current work tested whether sexual minority adults in the United States reported less positive social health (i.