Mental Health and Protective Factors for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Youths Who Trade Sex: A Minnesota Statewide School-Based Study, 2019.

Objectives. To describe the prevalence of sex trading by gender and by associations with mental health concerns and protective factors. Methods. We used data from 9th and 11th graders who completed the 2019 Minnesota Student Survey. The analytic sample (n = 67 806) included transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) youths and cisgender youths who reported trading sex. Data on 7 mental health measures and 4 school-related and health care-related protective factors were collected. Results. The prevalence of sex trading (5.9%) was 5 times higher among TGD students than cisgender students (1.2%). In addition, the prevalence of all mental health concerns was high among TGD students who traded sex (e.g., 75.9% reported a lifetime suicide attempt, as compared with 45.9% of cisgender students who traded sex). Fewer statistical differences were found across protective factors. When TGD students who traded sex were compared according to sex assigned at birth, no statistically significant differences were found. Conclusions. Our findings support strong calls for increased competence regarding gender and sex trading or exploitation in clinical and school-based settings to decrease health disparities among TGD youths. Public Health Implications. In this study, we have presented unique prevalence estimates of mental health disparities among TGD students in the United States who trade sex. Our results indicate that TGD students who trade sex are at risk for mental health symptoms and that sensitivity to both gender and sex trading or exploitation will be critical to meeting the needs of this group in clinical as well as school-based settings.

Prevalence of Trading Sex Among High School Students in Minnesota: Demographics, Relevant Adverse Experiences, and Health-Related Statuses.

PURPOSE: Youth who trade sex for something of value experience enduring harm and risk of being trafficked. This study provides empirically-based prevalence estimates to guide policy and practice. METHODS: This secondary analysis of 2019 population-level surveillance data from high school students in Minnesota (N = 71,007) uses descriptive statistics and chi-square tests to analyze self-reports of trading sex by demographics, relevant experiences, and health indicators. RESULTS: The prevalence of trading sex among high school students in Minnesota was 1.4%. Cisgender boys and girls had similar rates; transgender students were much higher (5.9%). Rates varied significantly across race/ethnicity (e.g., Native youth, 3.1%), school location, and economic indicators. Students indicating other relevant experiences, such as having been treated for alcohol or drug use (15.1%), reported elevated rates of trading sex. CONCLUSIONS: Trading sex is a public health issue that affects high school students. The results show disparate rates of trading sex based on race/ethnicity and gender, with elevated rates among youth who engage in other risky behaviors and experienced other adverse experiences.

Exploring critical youth media practice: connections and contributions for social work.

Youth media is emerging as an interdisciplinary field of practice and subject of study. Over the last two decades, there have been many efforts within communities to engage in media, especially within the fields of youth work and education. Despite the increase in practice, we found surprisingly little attention to the potential for youth media within the social work literature. Drawing on a qualitative content analysis of program descriptions from 49 youth media groups, the authors attempt to examine the current field of youth media. Using a critical media literacy framework, the authors analyze the practice of these youth media groups and apply those findings to social work practice, education, and research.

Indigenous youth participatory action research: re-visioning social justice for social work with indigenous youths.

The NASW Code of Ethics identifies social justice as one of six foundational values of the social work profession. Indigenous communities have long questioned the authenticity of this commitment and rightly so, given the historical activities of social work and social workers. Still, the commitment persists as an inspiration for an imperfect, yet determined, profession. This article presents a theoretical discussion of questions pertinent for social justice in social work practice in Native American communities: Whose definition of social justice should prevail in work with and in Indigenous communities? What can a revisioning of social justice mean to the development of Native communities and for Native youths in particular? What methods or processes of social work are most appropriate for this social justice work? This article presents a case for the practice of youth participatory action research as one method to work for social justice in Native communities.