Gender-affirming hormone care and long-term wellbeing of transgender youth and their parents
Official title: Long-term trajectories of psychosocial functioning among transgender youth and their parents.
Funded at Ut Southwestern Medical Center · NIH-11369507 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows transgender and gender-diverse young people and their parents to learn how gender-affirming hormone treatments relate to mental health, quality of life, and family wellbeing over time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ut Southwestern Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Dallas, United States) |
| Project start | September 25, 2023 |
| Project end | June 30, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $616,674 |
| NIH project number | 5R01HD112418-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369507 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Transgender and gender-diverse children, adolescents, and young adults who are starting or already receiving gender-affirming hormone treatments, along with their parents, are the ideal participants.
✕Less likely to help
People who are not transgender/gender-diverse, are not receiving hormone-related care, or want immediate clinical treatment rather than participating in a research follow-up are unlikely to get direct benefit from joining.
What this research studies
You and your child (or a youth you care for) would be followed for several years with regular questionnaires and review of health information to track mental health, quality of life, gender-related distress, and experiences of minority stress and resilience. The study focuses on young people receiving gender-affirming hormone therapies (puberty suppression, estrogen, testosterone) and also collects information from parents to understand family impacts. Researchers will look for different patterns of psychosocial change across individuals and factors that predict better or worse outcomes. The goal is to provide data that can help families and clinicians make more informed, individualized care decisions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could clarify long-term mental health and quality-of-life outcomes after hormone treatment and help guide more personalized care for transgender and gender-diverse youth and their families.
How similar studies have gone: Short-term studies have generally shown improvements in mental health and quality of life after gender-affirming hormone therapy, but long-term, large-sample data remain limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Ut Southwestern Medical Center
Dallas, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kuper, Laura Elizabeth — Ut Southwestern Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Kuper, Laura Elizabeth
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.