Fluidity in Gender Identity and Sexual Orientation Identity in Transgender and Nonbinary Youth.

Changes in sexual orientation identity (SOI) and gender identity (GI) have rarely been studied in transgender and/or nonbinary youth (TNBY), but documenting such changes is important for understanding identity development and gender transition and supporting the needs of TNBY. This study examined the frequency and patterning of changes in GI and SOI across 3 months (T1-T2) and 1.5 years (T1-T4) among 183 TNBY (baseline age 14-17 years; 83.6% White, 16.9% Hispanic/Latinx) who participated in a longitudinal US study. Participants completed online surveys including measures of GI and SOI. The most common gender identity selected at T1 (with or without another gender identity) was nonbinary (56.3%), and more than half (57.4%) of youth identified with a plurisexual identity (e.g., bisexual, pansexual). GI fluidity from T1-T2 was 13.2% and from T1-T4 was 28.9%. It was equally common to move toward a nonbinary gender identity as toward a binary gender identity. SOI fluidity was more common (30.6% from T1-T2; 55.8% from T1-T4) than GI fluidity. Shifts toward plurisexual identities were more common than shifts toward monosexual identities (e.g., straight, gay). Findings highlight the need to assess changes in GI and SOI in research and clinical practice to address the unique needs of TNBY accurately and effectively.

Associations between school-related factors and mental health among transgender and gender diverse youth.

Transgender and gender diverse youth (TGD) report high rates of mental health concerns. However, there is reason to expect that among TGD youth there is variation in mental health experiences related to specific aspects of gender identity. Furthermore, although certain school characteristics are related to improved mental health for sexual minority youth, it is unclear whether the same school characteristics are associated with improved mental health for TGD youth and whether gender identity moderates the associations between school characteristics and mental health. Using baseline data from Project AVANT, a longitudinal study of TGD youth ages 14-18 years in the United States (N = 252), we report on several mental health outcomes (i.e., depression, anxiety, nonsuicidal self-injury, and PTSD), with attention to differences by gender identity. Secondly, we examined associations of three protective school-related factors (i.e., school-connectedness, presence of a Gay-Straight or Gender-Sexuality Alliance [GSA], and state mandated protections for sexual and gender minority students) with TGD youth mental health. TGD youth reported elevated levels of anxious and depressive symptoms, with nonbinary youth assigned female at birth reporting higher mean depressive symptoms relative to transgender females. Among the aggregate sample of TGD youth, 69.9% reported clinically significant anxiety, 57.9% reported clinically significant depression, 56.7% reported nonsuicidal self-injury, and 46.4% met screening criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder. Despite a small effect size, greater school-connectedness was significantly associated with fewer mental health concerns and gender identity moderated the association between school-connectedness and number of anxiety symptoms. Gender identity also moderated the association between presence of a GSA and number of anxious symptoms, depressive symptoms, and clinically significant depression, respectively. No significant associations of state-level protections and mental health outcomes were detected. Findings highlight the importance of improving mental health and fostering GSA-engagement and school-connectedness among TGD youth. Implications for school psychologists are discussed.

Empowering Women in Finance through Developing Girls' Financial Literacy Skills in the United States.

This study examines the effectiveness of a financial literacy program, Invest in Girls (IIG), in promoting financial capability among high school girls. Using a quasi-experimental separate-samples pretest-posttest design and a longitudinal qualitative study, the study aims to assess the program efficacy and investigate the perspectives of the female students on its impact on their knowledge, behavior, and future goals and aspirations. The results indicated that the participants had significantly higher confidence for engaging in financial literacy after the program. The findings from the longitudinal study also suggested that that the program was influencing the students in positive ways, increasing their financial capability and leading them to consider wide occupational pathways available in finance. Given the lack of female leaders in the world of finance, the IIG program aims to address gender disparity in financial knowledge and highlight the importance of building financial literacy skills among girls.