@article{ref1,
title="Gender identity change efforts are associated with depression, panic disorder, and suicide attempts in South Korean transgender adults",
journal="Transgender health",
year="2023",
author="Lee, Hyemin and Operario, Don and Restar, Arjee J. and Choo, Sungsub and Kim, Ranyeong and Eom, Yun-Jung and Yi, Horim and Kim, Seung-Sup",
volume="8",
number="3",
pages="273-281",
abstract="PURPOSE: Gender identity change efforts (GICEs), sometimes referred to as &quot;conversion therapy,&quot; are considered pseudoscientific and unethical practices that are not supported by the existing scientific literature. However, a substantial portion of transgender people face such practices during their lives. We assessed lifetime exposure to GICEs and its associations with mental health indicators among transgender adults in South Korea. <br><br>METHODS: We analyzed a nationwide cross-sectional survey of 566 Korean transgender adults conducted in October 2020. Lifetime exposure to GICEs was classified as follows: &quot;never had GICE-related experiences,&quot; &quot;received a referral, but did not undergo GICEs,&quot; and &quot;undergone GICEs.&quot; We assessed mental health indicators, including past-week depressive symptoms; medical diagnosis or treatment of depression and panic disorder; and past 12-month suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and self-harm. <br><br>RESULTS: Of the total participants, 12.2% had &quot;received a referral, but did not undergo GICEs,&quot; and 11.5% had &quot;undergone GICEs.&quot; Compared with those who had &quot;never had GICE-related experiences,&quot; participants who had &quot;undergone GICEs&quot; showed significantly higher prevalence of depression (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]=1.34, 95% confidence interval [CI]=1.11-1.61), panic disorder (aPR=2.52, 95% CI=1.75-3.64), and suicide attempts (aPR=1.73, 95% CI=1.10-2.72). However, we did not find significant associations between having &quot;received a referral, but did not undergo GICEs&quot; and mental health indicators. <br><br>CONCLUSION: Given our findings suggest that lifetime exposure to GICEs may harm transgender adults' mental health, legal restrictions should be imposed to ban GICEs in South Korea.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2688-4887",
doi="10.1089/trgh.2021.0171",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2021.0171"
}