The first large-scale, national study of transgender children, including ages 3, poised to expand thanks to a five-year, grant Thursday from the National science Foundation Professor leading the project $ 1 million.
University of Washington psychologist Kristina Olson, 36, was named the winner of the annual prize, the NSF Alan T. Waterman, the highest government honor for scientists still in the early stages of his career. The NSF said the choice was unanimous, and noted that pediatricians are already using the results to raise awareness about gender diversity.
While the award citation honors Olson for its wide range of research in the field of children’s perception, she became known as the founder and leader of the TransYouth project, which is widely considered the most ambitious long-term study of transgender children is carried out in the United States
Launched in 2013, the project attracted more than 300 children ages 3-12 in 45 States, with the purpose of tracking their development over 20 years. The NSF grant will help to support Olson’s study, many children pass through adolescence, she hopes to continue it in adulthood.
“Children transgender is a category we have so little scientific knowledge,” says Olson. “I am interested in their experiences the feeling that you are in a social category that other people don’t think that you’re a part of.”
Some preliminary results of the study were presented two years ago in the journal “pediatrics” — it is noteworthy that tracked 73 children at that time were indicators of depression and anxiety are not higher than non-transgender children in the control groups. TRANS children were supported by their families and allowed to live openly as the gender they identify with — Olson proposed that family support is the key to avoid mental health problems identified in the study of other transgender adolescents.
“Scientifically, our research shows that this group of children is doing very, very well,” she said in a telephone interview.
She hopes that the NSF Grant will allow her to expand the study to cover adolescents who are in the process of transitioning, but not completed it. Part of the funds will be used for the work of Olson on other topics, including race and inequality, and to support research opportunities for students.
The TransYouth project received positive coverage in the following article in Pediatrics, but studies Olson also became the object of criticism. Article last year in the Federalist, a conservative online magazine, stated that it was “absolutely ridiculous” to open the study of gender identity, 3-year-old child ” who is just learning to use the toilet, spell his name, and days of the week.”
However, Olson said children of that age, whether transgender or not, show awareness of gender identity, largely due to their self-descriptions, what they wear, who they like to play.
“People often compare early identification of children with TRANS-those who go through stages of believing that they are cats or dinosaurs or who have imaginary friends,” Olson wrote recently. “Decades of work on issues of gender development assumes these ages, in which almost all children understand their own and others gender identity.”
Olson says, some critics incorrectly came to the conclusion that gender change surgery is performed on children goubernator age in their study.
It also emphasizes that the parents have already decided to help them make gender identity a economy, it is not in favour of it. Even before she met the children, they identificeret with Paul other than that they were born, often adopting a new name and new clothes, toys, activities and friends.
Among those skeptical of the study, Andrew Walker, a parent of two small children, who is the Director of political studies for the southern Baptist Convention Commission on ethics and religious freedom.
“I suspect allowing children to be Mature agents in determining this level of self-understanding”, – he said. “What seems very problematic and faces reckless… bringing sharply disastrous decisions regarding the child’s life in the hands of a child”.
He also questioned the advisability of investing Federal funds in the “what, ultimately, ideological, controversial issue — the concept of gender fluidity”.
Olson says the vitriol aimed in her address via e-mail and social media, has become so great that she avoided talking to the media for eight months.
“It doesn’t feel good to have people say negative things about you,” she said. “You just have to keep going”.
Cheryl Kaiser, senior lecturer of the Department of psychology at Washington University, described the RAID Olson in the project as an “amazing feat”.
Olson was the first psychologist to receive the award Waterman, which was established by Congress in 1975.
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