Youth With Sexual or Gender-Diverse Identities and Military Connection: Recommendations to Optimize Clinical Care

Abstract

In the United States, an estimated 1.9 million youth 13 to 17 years of age (9.5%) identify as sexual and/or gender diverse (SGD), identifying as nonheterosexual and/or having a gender identity other than the assigned sex at birth.¹ Up to 7% of SGD adolescents may have at least one parent currently or previously serving in the US military, an estimated 133,000 youth nationwide.^1,2 SGD adolescents are highly exposed to acute and chronic stressors, including minority stress and discrimination, resulting in elevated rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation.^3,4 SGD military-connected youth (ie, SGD youth with a parent or caregiver with military service experience) were found to be at even higher risk for these negative outcomes in one published report.² While both military connection and SGD identity may foster strengths, these youth also face well-studied stressors,^2,5 and the convergence of these identities and experiences is likely to produce greater challenges. Nearly half of military-connected youth are seen by civilian clinicians in local communities for primary care, and even more are seen for specialty care.⁶ As a result, all clinicians, both within and outside the military health system, and especially clinicians providing mental health care, must be familiar with these unique converging stressors facing SGD military-connected youth.