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Sexual habits among Italian transgender adolescents: a cross-sectional study

International Journal of Impotence Research volume 33, pages 687–693 (2021)Cite this article

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Abstract

Recent studies showed that transgender (TGN) adolescents are more at risk of negative sexual outcomes than their peers. However, little is known about the psychopathological and sociodemographic correlates of sexual-related experiences in TGN adolescents. This cross-sectional study aimed at overcoming this limitation describing this association in a sample of 18 transgirls and 32 transboys recruited at the Gender Clinic of the University of Florence between 2015 and 2020. Clinical, sociodemographic, and sexual-related features were collected through a face-to-face interview and anamnestic forms. Self-report questionnaires were administered to evaluate gender dysphoria (Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults), emotional and behavioral problems (Youth Self Report), and body uneasiness (Body Uneasiness Test). The percentage of subjects reporting to have had at least one romantic relationship in life was 62.5% among transboys and 16.7% in transgirls (ORsex = 8.65, p < 0.01), whereas 28.1% of transboys and 5.6% of transgirls were sexually active (ORsex = 6.63, p > 0.05). A worse psychological functioning and risk-taking behaviors were associated with being sexually active (p < 0.05). These results underline the deep interconnection between psychological vulnerability and sexual-related features in TGN adolescents, confirming the importance of developing gender inclusive sex education programs to prevent negative sexual outcomes in this population.

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Fig. 1: Sociodemographic and psychopathological correlates of sexual-related variables, reported as age-adjusted OR with 95% CI.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Andrology, Women’s Endocrinology and Gender Incongruence Unit, Florence University Hospital, Florence, Italy

    Jiska Ristori, Carlotta Cocchetti, Francesca Mazzoli, Linda Vignozzi & Alessandra D. Fisher

  2. Psychiatry Unit, Department of Health Sciences, University of Florence, Florence, Italy

    Eleonora Rossi, Giovanni Castellini & Valdo Ricca

  3. Department of Experimental, Clinical and Biomedical Sciences, Careggi University Hospital, Florence, Italy

    Mario Maggi

Authors
  1. Jiska Ristori
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  2. Eleonora Rossi
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  3. Carlotta Cocchetti
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Correspondence to Alessandra D. Fisher.

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Ristori, J., Rossi, E., Cocchetti, C. et al. Sexual habits among Italian transgender adolescents: a cross-sectional study. Int J Impot Res 33, 687–693 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41443-021-00427-6

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