SEATTLE — Does military service improve the longterm well-being of transgender individuals? A recent study showed that among older transgender adults, those who were veterans showed greater mental stability than those who had no military experience.
Researchers at the University of Washington turned to a longitudinal study of LGBT older adults, “Aging with Pride: National Health, Aging, Sexuality/Gender Study,” which assesses how various life events and situations play roles in the lives of the gay and transgender population.
For their research, the authors looked at 2,450 participants between the ages of 50 and 100. Of those individuals, 183 identified as transgender, and about a quarter of that group were veterans.
It’s believed that anywhere from a tenth to three-quarters of one percent of the estimated 2 million active service members in the United States military identify as transgender, while a 2014 study reported the same for about 134,000 veterans.
When comparing transgender individuals who had served in the military compared to those who didn’t, the veterans showed lower depression rates and overall greater mental health-related quality of life.
Lead author Charles Hoy-Ellis, a former doctoral student at UW, says the challenges that service members take on and their regimented way of life allows them to build up a level of resilience that the general population aren’t equipped with.
“Many people develop an identity as a military person — that it’s not just something they did but something that they are,” he explains in a university release. “If transgender people, who are among the most marginalized, can successfully navigate a military career, with so many of the dynamics around gender in the general population and in the military, then that experience can contribute to a type of identity cohesiveness.”
Researchers hope their findings can help lead to better policies and programs for transgender service members. Of course, such findings could also help LGBT individuals interested in serving feel more comfortable about applying, too.
The study’s findings were published earlier this year in a supplement of the journal The Gerontologist.
I find this hard to believe, even assuming trans people have been in the service despite being banned if they declare it. How convenient the results show up despite that just when it becomes a controversy again.
not really. hard to believe or not, Ive yet to meet an lgbt veteran who is mentally maladjusted. and timing of the study isnt really relevant. Im sad to say that you are fishing for a reason to reject the findings on this
I find it hard to believe service does this for anybody except those with particular personalities. I expect such persons to have a range of personalities like any randomly selected group and to respond to military conditions likewise.
I feel bad for any persons who are being used as political propaganda.
IF service strengthened mental health then they would no longer be transvestites. Letting in transvestites weakens our military, not strengthens it. No surprise when you see the Transvestites are Communists.