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Eating Disorders in Boys and Men pp 265–281Cite as

Eating Disorders Among Transgender and Gender Non-binary People

Abstract

With growing visibility of diverse gender identities and communities, it is necessary for clinicians involved in eating disorder prevention, screening, and treatment to create affirming spaces for transgender and gender non-binary (T/GNB) patients and clients. Further underscoring this need, there is mounting evidence that T/GNB populations are at 2–4 times greater risk of experiencing eating disorder symptoms compared to their cisgender (i.e., non-transgender) counterparts. Although research on the risk and protective factors underlying these health inequities is growing, more epidemiologic and clinical research is urgently needed. This chapter synthesizes the current state of the science and provides recommendations for clinicians at all levels of familiarity with T/GNB populations, including clinicians who are just beginning to think about gender diversity in their practice as well as those who have expertise in this area and wish to identify next steps for their clinical care, research, and/or advocacy in the field.

Keywords

  • Gender identity
  • Gender diversity
  • Gender affirmation
  • Sociocultural influences
  • Eating disorder
  • Stigma
  • Resilience
  • Transgender
  • Non-binary

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Community Health Sciences, Boston University School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA

    Allegra R. Gordon

  2. Framingham LGBTQ+ Adolescent Social Services (Framingham GLASS), Justice Resource Institute, Health Division, Framingham, MA, USA

    L. B. Moore

  3. Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital and Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA

    Carly Guss

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  1. Allegra R. Gordon
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  2. L. B. Moore
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  3. Carly Guss
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Correspondence to Allegra R. Gordon .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Division of Adolescent and Young Adult Medicine, Department of Pediatrics, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    MD Jason M. Nagata

  2. Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

    Dr. Tiffany A. Brown

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, USC Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

    Stuart B. Murray

  4. Department of Medicine, Military Cardiovascular Outcomes Research (MiCOR) Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, The Metis Foundation, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Ph.D. Jason M. Lavender

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Gordon, A.R., Moore, L.B., Guss, C. (2021). Eating Disorders Among Transgender and Gender Non-binary People. In: Nagata, J.M., Brown, T.A., Murray, S.B., Lavender, J.M. (eds) Eating Disorders in Boys and Men. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_18

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-67127-3_18

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