Mental Health Disparities Among Cisgender, Transgender, and Gender Nonconforming College Students in the United States

Many researchers attribute factors of identity, acculturation, sexual orientation, and substance use and other maladaptive behaviors as potential risk factors associated with increased mental illnesses reported by college students (Castillo & Schwartz, 2013;Wyatt & Oswalt, 2013). [...]the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated mental health problems in college students (Lopez Steinmetz et al., 2021;Son et al., 2020), with 71% experiencing more stress, anxiety, problems with concentration, and worry about a loved one's health as well as their own (Son et al., 2020). Approximately 75% of first-year college students with any mental illness do not seek help (Bruffaerts et al, 2019). [...]there is a growing need to address possible factors contributing to reduced help seeking and to identify vulnerable groups in college populations (Castillo & Schwartz, 2013). Men's decreased treatment utilization may be in part due to shame, stigma, and parental and peer norms toward seeking out mental health services (Seehuus et al, 2021). Given the impact that gender-related stressors play in the rise of mental illness in college students, this study aims to bridge the gap in mental health clinicians' and researchers' understanding of how diverse gender identities influence mental health-related outcomes and mental illness. [...]this study addresses two research questions: (1) Do gender differences (i.e., between cisgender men, cisgender women, and TGNC individuals) exist among college students in the prevalence of mental illness, utilization of psychological services, and mental health-related outcomes (i.e., psychological distress, stress, resilience, overall health, and loneliness)? (2) Do mental health-related variables differentially predict mental illness diagnoses among college students? METHOD Participants and Data Collection The ACHA (2020) National College Health Assessment-Ill Fall 2020 (NCHA-III) is a survey that gathers information regarding students' health.

Trans Comedy as Trans Care

Malatino compares two billboards, one declaring "Trans lives are sacred," found in Detroit in July 2019, and one stating "Trans people deserve health care, support, justice, safety, love," stationed near the border of Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms in November 2018 (2020, 25–26 and 30–31). (Nothing works for staving off isolation, illness, and routine workplace discrimination like stabbing your friends dressed as a neon cartoon alien with funky accessories, am I right?) Play, laughter, and jokes—collective endeavors, done with others, whether real or imaginary, present or distant (Freud 1905, Bergson 1912)—are key to trans care via media2. Playing together, via media, including the comedy of our own making, on the other hand, can take on a form of care, and we in turn keep each other alive. The newest iteration of the decades-long irony wherein cis/straight people reveal themselves as relying on the very healthcare they would deny trans and queer folks but with a new toxic twist, a spoof image of the cover of trans theorist Paul B. Preciado's Testo Junkies with Rogan photoshopped on the cover was soon circulating through the trans internet.

TRANSGENDER PERSON-CENTERED CARE IN PANDEMIC TIMES

Introduction and Objectives: This article aims to outline the need for a person-centered approach to sexual health for transgender people in COVID-19 pandemic times.Methods: These involved reviews of international healthcare standards and the principles and strategies of person-centered health care, which articulate science and humanism. Ethical imperatives, including respect for all persons' dignity and "first do not harm” as well as scientific considerations, including recognition of the eco-bio-psycho-social-spiritual multidimensionality of person and health were attended to.Results: The approach outlined here attends to Universal Sexual Rights, and the multidimensionality of persons' sexual diversity, in the context of the current pandemic. This is illustrated through the Gender Identity Law enacted by the Argentine Ministry of Health in 2014 and its 2020 amendment, formulated in the face of the pandemic. The healthcare approach outlined here involves recommendations to promote access to health care for transgender, transvestite, and sexual non-binary people in the context of the pandemic.Conclusions: All persons can present and experience a unique and multidimensional sexual profile that should be assessed thoroughly within the multidimensional framework of total health and total person. Health care should be scientifically thorough, provided prudently, informed by the "first do not harm” ethical principle, fully respectful of human and sexual rights and responsibilities, and aimed at advancing total health and complete well-being for all throughout their life course.

Introduction

[...]shifting ideologies surrounding "the family” inform and carry implications for economic, political, cultural, and social practices and activities. [...]of this dominance and influence of the family, this special issue centers on family-focused library and information science (LIS) research and is borne from conversations and reflections posed at a 2019 iConference Session for Interaction and Engagement of the same name. [...]in "Students and Parents: How Academic Libraries Serve a Growing Population,” Marta Bladek employs multiple sources of data to draw attention to the challenges and barriers postsecondary students who are also parents must contend with as they attempt to access academic library services and supports. [...]the articles in this issue also highlight the diverse areas within LIS that may be enriched by a consideration of the family context, including the study of information practices (Han;McKenzie;Ortiz-Myers and Costello), archival practices and personal information management (Krtalić, Dinneen, Liew, and Goulding), consumer health information (Charbonneau and Akers), reader response theory (Velez), early literacy (Prendergast and Sharkey), and library service provision (Bladek).

Exclusionary Behaviors Reinforce Historical Biases and Contribute to Loss of Talent in the Earth Sciences

Geosciences remain one of the least diverse fields. Efforts to diversify the discipline need to address the role of hostile and exclusionary work and learning environments. A workplace climate survey distributed to five professional organizations illustrates varied experiences of earth and space scientists over a 12-month period (pre-COVID). A majority experienced positive interactions in the workplace. However, scientists of color, women and non-binary individuals, scientists with disabilities, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, pansexual, and asexual (LGBQPA+) scientists more frequently experienced negative interactions, including interpersonal mistreatment, discriminatory language, and sexual harassment. Geoscientists of color were more likely to experience devaluation of their work than white scientists. More than half of women and non-binary respondents, as well as those who identify as LGBQPA+ experienced identity-based discriminatory remarks. Disabled geoscientists were more likely to hear negative identity-based language than those who did not disclose a disability. Overall, 14% of all respondents experienced sexual harassment in the previous year. Rates were greatest for historically excluded groups: non-binary (51%), LGBQPA+ (33%), disabled (26%), women (20%), and geoscientists of color (17%). A majority of geoscientists reported avoiding their colleagues and almost a third considered leaving their institution or a career change. Historically excluded groups were more likely to report opting out of professional activities with potential career consequences. To address continued exclusion and low retention in the earth and space sciences, recruitment is not enough. We need to create environments that ensure opportunities for all to thrive.

The importance of queer community resilience

A few years ago, I was asked to write a blog post about what I saw as key challenges for disaster management research, policy and practice. Since then, I have learnt that LGBTQIA+ inclusion requires supporting resilience capacities as much as it does addressing disaster vulnerabilities.

Building back better through feminist entrepreneurship policy

Purpose>Most feminists policies are aspirational. Deficiencies include vague terms of what constitutes ‘feminist’ within policy, ambiguous investment criteria, lack of consultation and the use of the binary definition of gender negating gender-diverse people (Tiessen, 2019). The purpose of this study is to identify parameters that characterize feminist entrepreneurship policies and to advance recommendations to operationalize these policies.Design/methodology/approach>The COVID-19 pandemic has unveiled fragilities in the socio-economic gains that women entrepreneurs have achieved. Gender-regression is, in part, the product of entrepreneurship policies that fail to recognize the nature and needs of women entrepreneurs. To inform recovery measures, this article considers two research questions: what are the parameters of feminist entrepreneurship policies? and how can parameters of feminist entrepreneurship policy be operationalized in pandemic recovery measures? To inform the questions, the study draws on the academic literature and thematic analysis of three collective feminist action plans to operationalize ten parameters that characterize feminist entrepreneurship policy.Findings>Supplanting ‘feminist’ for women in the construction of entrepreneurship policies, without specifications of how parameters differ dilutes government's efforts to achieve gender quality and women's economic empowerment. To inform policy, recommendations of three feminist recovery policies clustered under seven themes: importance of addressing root causes of inequality;need to invest in social and economic outcomes;economic security;enhancing access to economic resources;investment in infrastructure;inclusive decision-making;and need for gender disaggregated data to inform policy. Differences in policy priorities between collective feminist recovery plans and the academic literature are reported.Research limitations/implications>The parameters of feminist entrepreneurial policy require further interpretation and adaptation in different policy, cultural and geo-political contexts. Scholarly attention might focus on advisory processes that inform feminist policies, such as measures to address gender-regressive impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Research is also needed to understand the impacts of feminist policies on the lived experiences of diverse women entrepreneurs. Limitations: The study design did not incorporate viewpoints of policymakers or capture bureaucratic boundary patrolling practices that stymie feminist policies. Thematic analysis was limited to three feminist recovery plans from two countries.Practical implications>Recommendations to operationalize feminist entrepreneurship policies in the context of pandemic recovery are described.Originality/value>Ten parameters of feminist entrepreneurship policy are explored. The conceptual study also advances a framework of feminist entrepreneurship policy and considers boundary conditions for when and how the parameters are applicable.

“We Knew No One Else Had Our Back except Us”: Recommendations for Creating an Accountability Care Framework with Sex Workers in Eastern Canada

The authors report findings from a 15-month project that focused on the experiences of sex workers who live and work in an Eastern Canadian province. As part of a larger multi-phased study, 15 adults who identified as women, transgender, or non-binary, and received money or goods for sexual services, participated in photo-elicitation interviews. Drawing on a critical framing analysis, findings indicated supports—as identified and experienced by sex workers—encompassed three categories of care: self, community, and collective. These categories are described, with a particular focus on the latter two. Continuing with the care-based framework, recommendations to structure interventions draw on the role of accountability care in identifying how best to operationalize policies that promote health, well-being, and dignity of Canadian sex workers. The paper begins with a brief overview of the Canadian context and the role of supports. It follows with a discussion on the materials and methods and the results. It concludes with recommendations, limitations, and future considerations.

Proposing the safe and brave space for organisational environment: including trans* and gender diverse employees in institutional gender diversification

Purpose>The purpose of this paper is to explore an alternative strategy to decrease disadvantaging gender binarism and cis-normativity in an organisational context by including trans* and gender diverse (TGD) employee voices through the development of a safe and brave space (S&BS).Design/methodology/approach>This conceptual paper discusses the potential construction of S&BS and the possible integration as well as requirements of it into an organisational environment. The elaborated theoretical underpinning of a queering approach is used to build the foundation and the design of a potential successful implementation.Findings>Current diversity management strategies are repeatedly reported as inadequate to tackle the issue of gender binarism and cis-normativity or even to reinforce them via various strategies. The integration of S&BS could offer cis as well as TGD people an opportunity to participate in the development of organisational structures and managerial decision-making within a democratic and empowering environment. Managing gender with the support of TGD employees may increase inclusion, equity and diversity of gender in management and organisation.Originality/value>Although much of the management and organisational literature accepts the concept of gender binarism and cis-normativity, the integration of TGD employee voices through the adaptation of S&BS from an educational context into organisational management has not been explored.

Binge Eating Disorder Is a Social Justice Issue: A Cross-Sectional Mixed-Methods Study of Binge Eating Disorder Experts’ Opinions

Background: Binge eating disorder is an autonomous DSM-V diagnosis characterized by discrete rapid consumption of objectively large amounts of food without compensation, associated with loss of control and distress. Environmental factors that contribute to binge eating disorder continue to evolve. This mixed-methods cross-sectional study assessed whether there is consensus among experts in the field about environmental factors that influence adult binge eating disorder pathology. Methods: Fourteen expert binge eating disorder researchers, clinicians, and healthcare administrators were identified internationally based on federal funding, PubMed-indexed publications, active practice in the field, leadership in relevant societies, and/or clinical and popular press distinction. Semi-structured interviews were recorded anonymously and analyzed by ≥2 investigators using reflexive thematic analysis and quantification. Results: Identified themes included: (1) systemic issues and systems of oppression (100%);(2) marginalized and under-represented populations (100%);(3) economic precarity and food/nutrition insecurity/scarcity (93%);(4) stigmatization and its psychological impacts (93%);(5) trauma and adversity (79%);(6) interpersonal factors (64%);(7) social messaging and social media (50%);(8) predatory food industry practices (29%);and (9) research/clinical gaps and directives (100%). Conclusions: Overall, experts call for policy changes around systemic factors that abet binge eating and for greater public education about who can have binge eating disorder. There is also a call to take and account for the narratives and life experiences of individuals with binge eating disorder to better inform our current understanding of the diagnosis and the environmental factors that impact it.

Endocrine Management of Transgender Adults: A Clinical Approach

The attention to transgender medicine has changed over the last decade and the interest is most likely going to increase in the future due to the fact that gender-affirming treatments are now being requested by an increasing number of transgender people. Even if gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) is based on a multidisciplinary approach, this review is going to focus on the procedures adopted by the endocrinologist in an out-clinic setting once an adult patient is referred by another specialist for ‘gender affirming’ therapy. Before commencing this latter treatment, several background information on unmet needs regarding medical and surgical outcomes should be investigated. We summarized our endocrinological clinical and therapeutic approaches to adult transgender individuals before and during GAHT based on a non-systematic review. Moreover, the possible relationships between GAHT, gender-related pharmacology, and COVID-19 are also reported.

Evolving and Thriving - Keeping Music Therapy Alive in a Pandemic World: The Royal Melbourne Hospital Music Therapy Response in 2020

Music therapy was required to (a) evolve and expand its clinical service due to a significant rise in referrals across the hospital resulting in a dramatic increase in referrals outside clinically allocated streams, and (b) focus on supporting healthcare workers' wellbeing across the entire organisation with the formation of Scrub Choir. Introduction Established in 1998 at one of Victoria's major adult hospitals, our music therapy (MT) program centres on live music and guided songwriting at the bedside for rehabilitation, comfort, pain reduction, mood elevation, end of life care and increased quality of life (O'Brien 1999, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2012, 2014). In the following brief literature review, we have explored practice-based papers and surveys of MT COVID-19 services and technology, established literature on the impact of singing for wellbeing, and research into health care workers' (HCW) mental health. There were some insightful limitations to the study in a cultural and gender context specific to the participants group, which included preconceptions of gender roles, which the authors believed influenced participation (the researchers found male participants were less reluctant to access music and dance than female participants), and the access by female participants appeared to be influenced by their hometown origins (with a greater uptake by females in Northern areas of India).