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Call for papers - Mental health in the transgender community

Guest Editors

Asa E. Radix, MD, PhD, MPH, Columbia University, USA
Yuan Yuan Wang, PhD, South China Normal University, China

Submission Status: Open   |   Submission Deadline: 11 December 2024

BMC Psychiatry seeks innovative research on mental health in the transgender community, addressing the unique challenges and disparities faced by transgender people. We invite submissions that explore the impact of gender-affirming care, social support, and discrimination on mental wellbeing, with the aim of informing inclusive and effective mental healthcare practices for the transgender community.


New Content ItemThis Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.

Meet the Guest Editors

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Asa E Radix, MD, PhD, MPH, Columbia University, USA

Dr Asa Radix is the Senior Director of Research and Education at the Callen-Lorde Community Health Center in New York and an Associate Professor in the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University. Dr Radix is board-certified in internal medicine and infectious disease, holds a PhD in Epidemiology from Columbia University.

Dr Radix has over two decades of clinical experience working with transgender and gender diverse individuals with research predominately on HIV prevention, and healthcare access and outcomes for trans and gender diverse people, as well as identifying health disparities and institutional practices that create inequities for LGBTQ+ communities. 

Yuan Yuan Wang, PhD, South China Normal University, China

Dr Yuan Yuan Wang is a Professor in the School of Psychology at South China Normal University. She is a Chartered Psychologist at the British Psychological Society.

Dr Wang is an Editorial Board Member for several SCI/SSCI journals, including BMC Psychiatry and BMC Health Services Research. She has published more than 120 SSCI/SCI articles, and her main research areas include mood disorders and mental health studies, especially LGBT-related research.

About the Collection

BMC Psychiatry welcomes submissions to our Collection on Mental health in the transgender community.

Transgender individuals face unique challenges related to mental health, including higher rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation compared to the general population. The experience of gender dysphoria, social stigma, discrimination, and lack of access to gender-affirming care further exacerbate these disparities. Research in this area has shed light on the importance of social support, gender-affirming care, and the impact of social rejection on mental wellbeing among transgender individuals.

It is important for us to continue advancing our collective understanding in this area to address the mental health disparities faced by the transgender community. Recent advances have highlighted the significance of gender-affirming care, including hormone treatment and gender-affirmation surgery, in improving mental health outcomes for transgender individuals. Additionally, research has emphasized the need for inclusive and affirming mental healthcare practices that recognize the unique experiences and challenges of transgender individuals.

Continued research in this area has the potential for developing tailored interventions to address the mental health needs of transgender individuals across the lifespan. Future advances may focus on the role of primary care providers in delivering gender-affirming care, addressing the pathologization of transgender identity in mental healthcare settings, and promoting social acceptance and support for transgender individuals.

Topics of interest include but are not limited to:

  • Gender-affirming care and mental health outcomes
  • Social support and mental wellbeing in the transgender community
  • Mental health disparities and interventions for transgender youth and adults
  • Discrimination, stigma, and its impact on mental health in the transgender community
  • Resilience and coping strategies in the face of mental health challenges among transgender individuals
  • Access to mental healthcare services and barriers faced by transgender individuals
  • Family dynamics and mental health outcomes in the transgender community
  • Impacts of race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status on mental wellbeing in the transgender community

This Collection supports and amplifies research related to SDG 3: Good Health and Wellbeing and SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities.


Image credit: FatCamera / Getty Images / iStock

There are currently no articles in this collection.

Submission Guidelines

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This Collection welcomes submission of original Research Articles. Should you wish to submit a different article type, please read our submission guidelines to confirm that type is accepted by the journal. Articles for this Collection should be submitted via our submission system, Snapp. During the submission process you will be asked whether you are submitting to a Collection, please select "Mental health in the transgender community" from the dropdown menu.

Articles will undergo the journal’s standard peer-review process and are subject to all of the journal’s standard policies. Articles will be added to the Collection as they are published.

The Editors have no competing interests with the submissions which they handle through the peer review process. The peer review of any submissions for which the Editors have competing interests is handled by another Editorial Board Member who has no competing interests.