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Childhood Maltreatment Linked with a Deterioration of Psychosocial Outcomes in Adult Life for Southern Brazilian Transgender Women

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Abstract

A history of childhood maltreatment (HCM) has been associated with detrimental psychiatric outcomes. This is particularly true for transgender, for whom there is initial evidence that HCM may be associated with psychiatric morbidity. Our study aimed to further characterize the relationship between HCM and the development of mental disorder in adult life, based on a sample of Brazilian transgender women. Cross-sectional data were collected from a consecutive sample of 289 transgender women who attended the Hospital Clínicas clinic for gender dysphoria, in Porto Alegre, between 1998 and 2014. Our results demonstrated a greater risk of deteriorating mental health amongst participants who had experienced HCM. Given the disproportionally high rate of HCM in transgender persons, we advocate for greater assistance for transgender persons.

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    Authors and Affiliations

    1. Postgraduate Program of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Ramiro Barcelos, 2400 - 2° andar, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90035-003, Brazil

      Anna Martha Vaitses Fontanari, Bianca Machado Borba Soll, Karine Schwarz, Dhiordan Cardoso da Silva, Andressa Mueller & Maria Inês Rodrigues Lobato

    2. Postgraduate Program in Genetics and Molecular Biology, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Bento Gonçalves, 9500 - Prédio 43323M, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 15053, Brazil

      Diego Luiz Rovaris, Renata Basso Cupertino & Claiton Henrique Dotto Bau

    3. Graduate Program of Psychology, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, Ipiranga, 6681, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90619-900, Brazil

      Angelo Brandelli Costa

    4. Department of Education and Social Work, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

      Andrew Pasley

    5. Gender Identity Program, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, 90035 903, Brazil

      Anna Martha Vaitses Fontanari, Angelo Brandelli Costa, Bianca Machado Borba Soll, Karine Schwarz, Dhiordan Cardoso da Silva, André Oliveira Borba & Maria Inês Rodrigues Lobato

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    1. Anna Martha Vaitses Fontanari
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    Correspondence to Maria Inês Rodrigues Lobato.

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    Anna Martha Vaitses Fontanari, Diego Luiz Rovaris, Angelo Brandelli Costa, Andrew Pasley, Renata Basso Cupertino, Bianca Machado Borba Soll, Karine Schwarz, Dhiordan Cardoso da Silva, André Oliveira Borba, Andressa Mueller, Claiton Henrique Dotto Bau and Maria Inês Rodrigues Lobato declares that they have no conflict of interest.

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    All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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    Anna Martha Vaitses Fontanari and Diego Luiz Rovaris have contributed equally to the present study.

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    Fontanari, A.M.V., Rovaris, D.L., Costa, A.B. et al. Childhood Maltreatment Linked with a Deterioration of Psychosocial Outcomes in Adult Life for Southern Brazilian Transgender Women. J Immigrant Minority Health 20, 33–43 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10903-016-0528-6

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