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Uncovering associations between gender nonconformity, psychosocial factors, and mental health in adolescents: a birth cohort study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2023

Zui Narita Open the ORCID record for Zui Narita [Opens in a new window] ,
Jordan DeVylder ,
Syudo Yamasaki ,
Shuntaro Ando ,
Kaori Endo ,
Mitsuhiro Miyashita ,
Satoshi Yamaguchi ,
Satoshi Usami ,
Daniel Stanyon  and
Gemma Knowles
...Show all authors
Zui Narita*
Affiliation:
Department of Behavioral Medicine, National Institute of Mental Health, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan
Jordan DeVylder
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Social Service, Fordham University, New York, USA Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
Syudo Yamasaki
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
Shuntaro Ando
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Kaori Endo
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
Mitsuhiro Miyashita
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
Satoshi Yamaguchi
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
Satoshi Usami
Affiliation:
Graduate School of Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan Center for Research and Development on Transition from Secondary to Higher Education, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
Daniel Stanyon
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
Gemma Knowles
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) Center for Society and Mental Health, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
Mariko Hiraiwa-Hasegawa
Affiliation:
School of Advanced Science, SOKENDAI (Graduate University for Advanced Studies), Kanagawa, Japan
Toshiaki A Furukawa
Affiliation:
Department of Health Promotion and Human Behavior, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine / School of Public Health, Kyoto, Japan
Kiyoto Kasai
Affiliation:
Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan The International Research Center for Neurointelligence (WPI-IRCN), University of Tokyo Institutes of Advanced Study (UTIAS), Tokyo, Japan
Atsushi Nishida
Affiliation:
Unit for Mental Health Promotion, Research Center for Social Science & Medicine, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science, Tokyo, Japan
*
Corresponding author: Zui Narita; Email: zuinarita@ncnp.go.jp
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Abstract

Background

Little information is available on the association between gender nonconformity during adolescence and subsequent mental health. While the distress related to gender nonconformity may be socially produced rather than attributed to individual-level factors, further research is needed to better understand the role of psychosocial factors in this context.

Method

We analyzed data from the Tokyo Teen Cohort, obtained through random sampling of adolescents born between 2002 and 2004. We used inverse probability weighting to examine the association of gender nonconformity at ages 12 and 14 as a time-varying variable with subsequent mental health at age 16, while accounting for time-fixed and time-varying confounders. Furthermore, we used a weighting approach to investigate the mediating role of modifiable psychosocial factors in this association, addressing exposure-mediator and mediator–mediator interactions.

Results

A total of 3171 participants were analyzed. Persistent gender nonconforming behavior at ages 12 and 14 was associated with subsequent depression (β = 2.02, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.85 to 3.19) and psychotic experiences (β = 0.33, 95% CI 0.14 to 0.52) at age 16. The results remained robust in sensitivity analyses. Approximately 30% of the association between gender nonconformity and depression was consistently mediated by a set of psychosocial factors, namely loneliness, bullying victimization, and relationships with mother, father, and friends.

Conclusions

Persistent gender nonconformity during adolescence is associated with subsequent mental health. Psychosocial factors play a vital mediating role in this association, highlighting the essential need for social intervention and change to reduce stigmatization and ameliorate mental health challenges.

Keywords

childadolescencegender identitytransgender personsmajor depressive disorderpsychosisschizophreniaanxietysocial isolationmediation analysiseffect modifierpsychiatry
Type
Original Article
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 54 , Issue 5 , April 2024 , pp. 921 - 930
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Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2023. Published by Cambridge University Press

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