Psychological Damage to Adolescents with GID

     In an article I read published in Yahoo! News there is apparent a strong tie with psychiatric risk with children with Gender Identity Disorder. A couple of months back in February there was a study within the Children's Hospital of Boston, that showed:

"Of these patients, who first came to Children's Hospital Boston at an average age of 14.8 years, 44 percent had a history of psychiatric symptoms, 37 percent were taking psychotropic medications, 21 percent had a history of self-mutilation and 9 percent had attempted suicide." (PRNewswire 2012)

Though these facts can prove to be a little disturbing, it is a little light at the end of the tunnel I believe. With this new information we can teach our parents to our children ways to often avoid escalated issues in the future. 

     I believe that a good piece that tied into this somewhat was the article we read in class by Alice Dreger, "Gender Identity Disorder in Childhood: Inconclusive Advice to Parents". There is some helpful advice in this article on how to handle your child's situation without being biased or cold. The one method that I found particularly helpful in light of these facts of the Yahoo! article was the idea to accommodate the child, supporting them, and going with their feelings, beliefs, and what felt right to them.
     I think that knowing this information based on factual studies is a good thing, because it shows that medical doctors and psychiatrists are moving away from unbiased opinions and shelling out information that is viable and worth people knowing and using. It is hard to be a parent of a child with GID I'm sure, however there is always room to improve and change tactics to handling situations for the greater good.

References

"Children with Gender Identity Disorder Are at Serious Psychiatric Risk." Yahoo! News. PRNews, 20 Feb. 2012. Web. 24 Apr. 2012. <http://news.yahoo.com/children-gender-identity-disorder-serious-psychiatric-risk-050219755.html>. 

Dreger, Alice. "Gender Identity Disorder in Childhood: Inconclusive Advice to Parents." 

The Hastings Center Report, Jan.-Feb. 2009. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. <http://corwin.emich.edu.ezproxy.emich.edu/sfx_local/?genre=article&sid=ProQ:&atitle=Gender%20Identity%20Disorder%20in%20Childhood%3A%20Inconclusive%20Advice%20to%20Parents&title=The%20Hastings%20Center%20Report&issn=00930334&date=2009-01-01&volume=39&issue=1&spage=26&au=Alice%20Dreger>.

 -Brittani Moorer