Select Articles
How Doctors Help Transgender Kids Thrive (The New York Times)
Doctors once argued that it would be insane to block a child’s puberty and change her body. Seeing Hannah as a happy and thriving teenager, I now see it would be insane not to.
The Digital Sex Lives of Young Gay Teenagers (The New York Times)
Roughly one in four gay and bisexual boys ages 14 to 17 in the United States are on gay hookup apps designed for adults (Grindr, Scruff, Jack’d, Adam4Adam). Sixty-nine percent of them have had sex with someone they met through these apps. Only twenty-five percent use condoms consistently.
Will a small number of transgender and gender diverse youth change their minds about transitioning? Yes. Does this mean we should withhold a treatment that has a high likelihood to provide a big mental health benefit? No.
We Need to Talk about How Grindr is Affecting Gay Men’s Mental Health (Vox)
Dating and hook-up apps like Grindr make it easy for gay men to find sex quick. How are these apps affecting their mental health?
The Trump Administration’s Definition of Gender Is Not Science (Psychology Today)
The Trump administration wants a definition of gender that is “grounded in science.” Unfortunately for them, there is no scientific definition of gender.
The Ketamine Breakthrough for Suicidal Children (Scientific American)
New research shows that ketamine may be one of the most potent anti-depressant medications to date. Will this new use of the psychedelic medication, however, reveal new risks?
Nice Brains Finish Last (Scientific American)
New research suggests that “prosocial” brains are more prone to depression. Is there hope for the nice guys?
Are Cats Responsible for Cat Ladies? (Scientific American)
Are cats responsible for the strange behavior of their owners? The strange neuroscience behind cats and their protozoan minions.
The American College of Pediatricians Is an LGBT Hate Group (Psychology Today)
A small but clever right-wing group created a legit-sounding name and published false reports about LGBT youth. They went as far as filing amicus briefs with US courts.
The Child Psychiatrist Will Not See You Now (Psychology Today)
The dramatic shortage of child psychiatrists in the United States has devastating consequences for our children.
Sec. Betsy DeVos Is Okay with Schools Banning LGBT Students (Psychology Today)
US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos says she will not require schools with anti-LGBT policies to end these policies in order to receive federal funding.
Connecticut Bans Reparative Therapy for LGBT Youth (Psychology Today)
Connecticut makes it illegal for licensed professionals to practice reparative therapy on gay or transgender youth.
Will Trump’s Immigration Policies Create Child Terrorists? (Psychology Today)
Research in child psychiatry suggests that new US policies and rhetoric may paradoxically fuel terrorism.
What should my doctor look like? (Kevin MD)
New research reveals pervasive elements of medical culture that lead to lack of advancement for women as well as racial, gender, and sexual minority physicians and doctors-in-training.
Response to “Are gender feminists and transgender activists undermining science?” (Los Angeles Times)
This letter addresses misconceptions that transgender youth may undergo “needless medical interventions” because they change their minds about identifying as transgender.
Select Press & Interviews
LGBTQ Youth Vulnerable, Not Protected from Access to Dating Sites like Grindr (NPR)
Deborah Becker interviews Dr. Jack Turban on All Things Considered about how sites including Grindr should be doing more to keep kids from accessing them.
Can Grindr Make Itself Less Racist? (GQ)
GQ writer André Wheeler discusses the racism, transphobia, and body-shaming that run rampant on the gay dating app Grindr. What can dating apps do to change?
Trump’s anti-trans proposal may increase prejudice. Here’s one way to combat it (Vox)
Vox writer Brian Resnick examines Trump’s proposal to define gender: “There is no ‘scientific definition’ of gender. Things like anatomy and chromosomes just don’t cut it. The only way to know someone’s gender is to ask them.”
Quando mia figlia mi disse: “Mamma, sono un maschio.” (Vanity Fair)
Vanity Fair Italia explores the lives of families with transgender children.
How Young Doctors are Debunking Transphobia in Medicine (Bustle)
Bustle writer Bronwyn Isaac describes how medicine is changing its approach for treating transgender patients.
Physician Jack Turban Is Dedicated to Trans Kids’ Health (NBC News)
For the past five years, the Harvard University and Yale School of Medicine graduate has been focusing on the health of transgender children.
How the Parents of Trans Teens Are Fighting for Their Kids’ Lives (Vogue)
Vogue reporter Rebecca Johnson explores how families adapt after children come out as transgender.
Can Rigid Gender Stereotyping Increase a Child’s Risk of Depression? (US News & World Report)
New research suggests that forcing children into traditional gender roles may be damaging to their mental health.
STUDY: Letting Kids Transition Before Puberty Eliminates Higher Rates Of Depression, Anxiety (Logo News)
New research shows that transgender youth who are allowed to live as their affirmed genders have developmentally normal mental health.
Tinder (y Grindr) te están destrozando la vida (GQ)
How are dating and hookup apps affecting mental health?
In Psychology Today, LGBTQ Expert Urges Media to Stop Citing Hate Group (Media Matters)
Noting the ACP’s growing political traction through its amicus briefs and other political testimony, Turban called for both the news media and individuals “to stop propagating” ACP’s ’ “repeatedly denounced and factually incorrect reports,” saying that the “health of LGBT youth depends on it.”
Good Outcome with Early Transition for Transgender Youth (Medscape)
Medscape discusses the controversy surrounding early social transition for transgender youth. Should therapists advise parents to let their pre-pubescent transgender children live full time as their identified gender?
Podcast: What Transgender Kids Want Doctors to Know (JAACAP)
Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry Contributing Editor Dr. Cynthia E. Rogers interviews Jack Turban about how transgender youth’s perspectives on treatment can inform and improve clinicians’ care for them.
Yale Researchers Assess Trans Patient Care (Yale Daily News)
A team from Yale brings the voices of transgender youth into the academic medical literature.
Cats May Cause Humans To Behave Strangely, Science Suggests, & Here’s How (Bustle)
Understanding the strange neuroscience of Toxo and cat ownership.
Heavyweight Podcast Episode 3: Tara (Gimlet Media)
Jonathan watched a short experimental video in college in which a little girl sat in silence while her parent sobbed. Now, Jonathan wants to know if that girl is okay.