Theories: Ways to motivate employees

Theories: Ways to motivate employees Ways of motivating employees Motivation of employees is one of the most important processes that managers should develop. An organization is highly dependent on people; therefore, their motivation for higher productivity is crucial for the whole company. Thus, the success of any organization depends on the ability of managers to provide a motivating environment for its employees. Motivated employees are more productive, happier, and stay with the organization longer. One of the primary tasks a manager faces is to find out how to motivate their employees. Different ways of motivating employees are described by academics and business people. The motivation of employees also depends a lot in the culture where the employees reside. Some of the organizations reward their employees according to performance while some others provide only static income and measure the performance according to that. The purpose of this assessment is to describe the common theories of employee motivation and also practical ways of motivat ing employees in an organization regardless of the culture. One of the basic theories of employee motivation is the scientific management whose basis is considering employees as an input to the production of goods and services. The approach stresses on scientific selection, training and development of workers instead of allowing them to choose their own tasks and training methods and its objective is to carry out work in accordance with scientifically devised procedures. One of the pioneers and inventor of scientific approach to management was Frederick Taylor. Frederic Taylor, (1856-1915) was the first to analyze human behavior scientifically with his machine model by making individuals into the equivalent of machine parts. He broke down the tasks to its smallest unit to figure out the best approach. After careful analysis of the job, workers were trained to do only those motions essential to the task. Taylor attempted to make a science for each element of work and restrict behavioral alternatives facing worker and looked at interaction of h uman characteristics, social environment, task, and physical environment, capacity, speed, durability and cost. The overall goal was to remove human variability (Terpstra, 2005). Taylors machine model was a success and did increase production and profitability because rational rules replaced trial and error and management became more formalized which eventually led to increased efficiency. But Taylors treatment of human beings like machines faced resistance from managers and workers who considered this way of working as dehumanization of work. This method also faced stiff group resistance because no one likes to be so close monitored for each little part of the work he/she does. Despite its criticisms, Taylors methods had a great impact on work because he invented a new, efficient and more productive way to work that changed the complete nature of the industry. Before scientific management, departments such as work study, personnel, maintenance and quality control did not exist (Buf ord, 2000). The core elements of scientific management remain popular and have only been modified and updated to suit the current times we live. The second most common and widely know theory of employee motivation is the behavioral approach. Unlike scientific approach behavior approach places emphasis on what motivates people and seeks to identify and account for the specific influences that motivate people. Maslow (1943) put forward the hierarchy of needs theory which saw human needs in the form of a hierarchy, ascending from lowest to the highest. He argued that lower level needs had to be satisfied before the next higher level need and once one set of needs is satisfied, this kind of need ceases to be a motivator. According to Maslow (1943), the five needs are: Physiological needs Safety or Security needs Social Needs Esteem Self actualization Looking at Maslows hierarchy of needs triangle, as each needs are substantially satisfied, the next need becomes dominant. (eg. esteem needs become dominant after social needs are satisfied).Also, when a need gets substantially satisfied, it stops to be motivating. The core of Maslows theory is to focus on finding out the level of hierarchy the person is in and focusing on satisfying his/her needs and the needs above it. Maslows theory of needs has been wider recognized and is being practiced by managers across the globe. The theorys ease of understanding and intuitive logic makes it easy to implement, but there is no empirical evidence to validate the theory and there is no metric to measure the success of the theory after being implemented. In addition to the theories of employee motivation, there are a number of practical ways for managers to motivate their employees. One of the main ways to motivate your employees is make their tasks and activities as fun. Frederick Herzbergs (1959) famous quote says If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do. Some workers really want to enjoy the work they do. Many who enjoy the activities they participate in at work look forward to the day each morning. The opposite also can be true when workers dont enjoy the tasks they perform at work, but they may like their social activities after work (football, shows, movies, going out with friends, community events). These are the individuals that get excited at the end of the day knowing that the fun can now begin. Leaders should take notice of these signs. If your workers are more excited at the end of the day (to leave) than they are at the beginning of the day (to arrive), then there is probably a lack of motivation taking place in the area of intrinsic process or fun. Managers should look for tasks which are each of employees favorites, find ways to assign more of the tasks they enjoy and fewer of the ones they dont like to do and also create a good climate in the whole organization. Finally, it is important in this regard to plan social events for your employees, organize a company ball (softball, baseball, basketball, volleyball, football) game, sponsor a company barbecue, take your employees out to dinner or invite them to your house for dinner, and Have company-wide events that are intended to let everyone have fun. Secondly, a motivation factors which is valued a lot especially in the Western culture, is the rewards according to performance. The basic idea is that performance is the responsible factor that leads to intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards and these rewards, along with the equity of individual leads to satisfaction. Hence, satisfaction of the individual depends upon the fairness of the reward (Bowen 1991). Many workers need to know their work will be rewarded to be motivated to perform. Per hour pay is what keeps people coming to work, but this isnt what will motivate them to excel in their work. People motivated by rewards will look beyond whether they are getting something tangible for their work. They will also consider what others are getting for their work and often will compare their output with others. For example, if a worker notices that he or she consistently outperforms coworkers, but knows that those coworkers earn a higher salary, this will not sit well with a person motivated by rewards. In fact, it will make a worker want to work less hard if colleagues earn more without being more productive. The opposite also works against motivating an instrumentally motivated worker. If a worker earns more than a colleague, but is less productive than the other worker, this wont cause this person to work harder. It will not cause this person to change their effort level at all. The reason for this is that if a worker motivated by rewards doesnt think that his or her pay really depends on how well they perform, then they wont be motivated to work harder. Extra effort and hard work will come from these individuals only when it is clearly rewarded and when it will affect their rewards. In addition to rewards and fun, many employees need the respect and upgrade of their reputation. People motivated by reputation have a strong need to enhance their image or esteem with others. There are a lot of people out there who want others to think highly of them. Many people are just plain hungry, starving in fact, for some attention and accolades. Individuals striving for popularity or fame characterize the self-concept external motivation. Many workers will not work hard unless they believe their efforts will be noticed and recognized. Workers often say that their managers dont care for their contribution. Other workers will work hard for a short while until they realize that their boss doesnt verbalize any appreciation for their efforts. When this happens, motivation disappears. People motivated by this source will go to great lengths to save face in the public eye. These are the individuals who take great pride in their appearance, in the clothes they wear, the cars they d rive, the neighborhood they live, and other outward things. These people are seeking approval from others. Thus, managers, in order to motivate employees through reputation, should give workers lots of feedback about the way they are performing, give praise in front of other people, criticize these individuals only in private and never in front of others and give unsolicited compliments and positive reinforcement to workers for jobs with which you are satisfied The last among most common ways of motivating employees, is the purpose. Individuals who are motivated by purpose look beyond themselves. They really arent concerned with their own self-interests or with who may notice what theyve done or whether they are being pushed and challenged. What matters to a person motivated by a strong sense of purpose is that they must believe in what the organization is doing. If they agree with what the company stands for and what the company is trying to do, then they will join in and give their fullest efforts to achieve the organization goals. However, if these individuals dont feel called by the vision or purpose, they will seem rather lethargic or uninterested in whats going on. Instead their best efforts will be reserved for other causes in their lives more deserving of their heart and soul effort. These are the individuals who commonly will work very hard on community-based problems or charity. Goals are important for purpose-driven persons; ther efore, an organizations that has clear mission and vision and also clear goals in implementing their strategies, would help those people and motivate them for further work. To conclude, employee motivation is very important for an organization and for its productivity. There are a number of theories on the employee motivation. The scientific method claims that motivation is the scientific management whose basis is considering employees as an input to the production of goods and services. Unlike scientific approach behavior approach places emphasis on what motivates people and seeks to identify and account for the specific influences that motivate people. In addition to the theories, among the practical methods of employee motivation is that employees should always like what they do in order to achieve optimal productivity. In addition, employees should be rewarded according to their performance, their reputation should be respected and also they should be given a purpose in line with their interests. Following this ways of employee motivation, managers will manage to motivate them and increase their productivity, fruitfulness and create a good climate in their organizations. Works cited: Bowen, B. E., Radhakrishna, R. B. (1991). Job satisfaction of agricultural education faculty: A constant phenomena. Journal of Agricultural Education, 32 (2). 16-22. Buford, J. A., Jr. (2000). Extension management in the information age. Journal of Extension, 28 (1). Herzberg, F., Mausner, B., Snyderman, B. B. (1959). The motivation to work. New York: John Wiley Sons.. Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review, July 1943. 370-396. Terpstra, D. E. (2005). Theories of motivation: borrowing the best. Personnel Journal, 58. 376.

The Importance of Good Writing Skills for Prospective University Students

Introduction In the age of technology, most students are absorbed in using electronic sources to either read or listen to academic information and usually attempt to memorize facts as far as possible. While electronic devices such as Android phones, iPads, Kindles, and other devices provide students with an amalgamation of information at their fingertips and students are very well informed regarding what is happening in the world and how various things work, they often lack the ability to form and express their opinions in their own words. This skill is often seen non-existent amongst prospective university students, who possess a great degree of knowledge regarding numerous topics, but struggle when they are required to write their personal statements to when they are required to write their dissertations in their final years. It is important for prospective university students to recognize the importance of good writing skills in order to help them get through their university years. The issues of plagiarism, use of vocabulary, and proper structuring must be addressed adequately in order to help prospective university students achieve good grades. The following tips may help university students improve their writing skills: Adopting the habit of reading: Listening to music, playing sports, and hanging out with friends are common activities found in young adults nowadays. However, a study found that approximately 21% of university-aged students said that they enjoyed reading while the majority of students did not express this interest (CollegeXpress, 2013). However, this hobby is highly important for students in order to help them improve their structuring, their ability of expression, and their vocabulary skills. Writing a diary or a blog: While diaries may be slightly out-dated, students can create a blog on a topic of interest which will help them regularly post their thoughts, feelings, and opinions regarding various topics. This will help enhance their creativity, expressive abilities, and enable them to generally enhance their writing skills to capture the interest of readers. Becoming a freelance writer: While prospective university students search for various part-time jobs, it may be beneficial for them to look for jobs as freelance writers. Indulging in activities such as writing advertising and marketing messages, writing emails, and other small tasks to earn a small income may pay a long way in their future. Avoid using slang when chatting, writing emails, or in any other form of communication: Using slang impairs a person’s spelling and vocabulary skills and may often hinder a person’s ability to write properly structured sentences. Hence, avoiding the use of such language can help a student write more appropriately in the future. Having good writing skills can help prospective students in their university years and can also pay a long way when looking for prospective careers. Most employers are looking for candidates with a good level of expression, excellent writing skills, and a high level of creativity. Research has found that individuals with good writing skills score 80% higher than those who do not possess such skills in university and tend to find jobs 30% quicker than others (Aims Community College, 2013). References Aims Community College. (2013) Online Writing Lab. [online] Accessed on: November 10, 2013 Available at: http://www.aims.edu/student/online-writing-lab/overview/why CollegeXpress. (2013) â€Å"Cultivating Exceptional Writing Skills for Success and Beyond†. Accessed on November 11, 2013 Available at: http://www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/majors-and-academics/articles/college-academics/cultivating-exceptional-writing-skills-success-college-and-beyond/

The Most Neglected Fact About Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College Revealed

The Most Neglected Fact About Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College Revealed A persuasive therefore isn't hard to learn and after you have polished the skills it turns into a walk over. You will see people with more money indulging in dangerous activities attempting to fill the void they cannot explain. Though people believe education is a correct and will make society, generally, a better place for everybody, others feel there's no legitimate way to provide a free college education as colleges would still have to be funded (likely through tax dollars). Vital Pieces of Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College Persuasive writing can be challenging, particularly when you're made to face with a close-minded audience. A persuasive essay has to be able to grab the interest of the folks reading it easily. Any sentence that's not furthering my thesis is distracting from it and should be taken off. You still have to make an outstanding bit of writing. What the In-Crowd Won't Tell You About Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College It is very important to understand of how critical it may be to use completely free essays you may come across online. Sample persuasive essays can also give inspiration on topics to write on in addition to serve as examples about how to compose your essay. Writing an essay is a vital role in academe life. The greatest persuasive short essays often concentrate on controversial problems. Instead of high school subjects, college subjects are somewhat more complicated to discover. Students shouldn't have to wear uniforms. They should not have to wear school uniforms because they limit students' ability to express their individuality. There are lots of persuasive essay examples college students are able to make use of online. Ideas, Formulas and Shortcuts for Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College Your persuasive argument is going to be made stronger if you're able to demonstrate that you're passionate about this issue and have a strong opinion one way or the other. The simplest way to influence the kind of an essay is to realize the writer's point of view. Having found the side that you're standing for, you want to make certain you fully grasp the viewpoint of the opposite side. Most academic essay topics usually ask you to select a side in an argument or maybe to defend a specific side against criticism. Without a thesis, it's impossible that you present a productive argument. The body of your essay ought to be supported by research evidence you could gather. Whichever topic you select, always don't forget the significance of literature sources. In the event that you had thought about using an illustration of a persuasive essay, then one of the very first things to be alert to is the probability of being caught for plagiarism. The Awful Secret of Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College Pros of selecting an inexpensive essay service Availability Everywhere on the web, you can get one or other essay services. Fortunately, you can get persuasive essay writing help online with legitimate companies like WriteMyEssayz.com. Purchasing an essay enables you to get original content created for your special purpose. An essay writing service that provides custom solutions listen to the client. Life, Death and Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College If you're not healthy, you won't get to relish life. There are just a few things that define whether an essay you're working on is going to be a good one. The other excellent thing with this kind of an essay is that it may be done within a day. It might be possible to compose a persuasive essay about the should feed all the hungry children on earth, but nevertheless, it wouldn't be a particularly intriguing essay because no sensible person would declare that each of the hungry children deserve to starve. Details of Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College For girls, having balanced mental wellness is critical to get ting a thriving academic career. It's possible to purchase a fantastic medical cover and pay for the ideal treatment but can't guarantee decent health. As a consequence, you get a good deal of free time and completed homework. You may trust us to supply expert assistance for many of your academic writing needs. Such a paragraph might incorporate a succinct overview of the ideas to be discussed in body of the paper along with other information related to your paper's argument. See that the objective of a persuasive speech is like the purpose for writing an argumentative or persuasive essay. Samples are a really good tool for students that are learning how to compose a persuasive essay. Today's lesson might be a bit dull, but it's vital for future work. Students have to compose essays based on the teacher's instructions or their preferred style in writing. The Lost Secret of Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College While each particular criterion has its specific direction s, to find an exceptional grade, you will need to learn how to properly combine them. Such last-minute searching never becomes futile, which causes unfinished essay assignments and leads to a poor grade. As it is, if you should use a persuasive essay template, after the very long search to find something dependent on the topic which you wish to write about, it's still highly unlikely it will reflect your requirements adequately enough to secure you a nice grade. While attempting to learn how to compose a persuasive essay step-by-step, students forget about another important activity. Then you're interested in figuring out how to compose persuasive paper. The value of research in persuasive writing may not be overstated. Possessing great research abilities and selecting an excellent topic is essential. The goal of brainstorming is to aid you in getting ideas. No matter your reasons for choosing to use this kind of essay, you should know that the results will probably be nega tive. You're welcome to speak to us if you wish to learn more on the topic of persuasive essays or our expert services. There's several essays completed by them. As tempting as it might appear to skip past the extra info and go right to the list of persuasive essay topics, don't do it. What is Actually Going on with Free Persuasive Essay Samples for College For instance, the price of a persuasive essay will differ from a proposal essay. It is among the simplest and interesting essay that students would enjoy writing.

Treating Transgender Youth - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 9 Words: 2661 Downloads: 2 Date added: 2019/08/07 Category Society Essay Level High school Topics: Transgender Essay Did you like this example? ABSTRACT Site a statistical or longitudinal study in Abstract (Intro Summary) Keywords: Transgender, Gender Nonconforming, Gender Queer, Gender Non-Binary, Gender Fluid, Gender Minority, Gender-Affirmative Care, Puberty Blockers, Hormone Blockers, Puberty Suppression, Gender-Affirming Hormones INTRODUCTION Gender identity refers to an individuals psychological sense of ones gender as male, female, or other (Connolly et al., 2016). Gender identity is understood to be a complex intersection of biology, development, and socialization within a cultural context and research suggests that children develop a strong sense of gender identity at a young age, primarily influenced by cognitions and emotions, rather than by physically identifiable sex characteristics (Hidalgo et al., 2013). Because gender identity develops between 1.5 3 years old (with sexual orientation developing as early as age 8), understanding how to work with transgender youth is essential for any professional working with children in the medical or mental health fields (Keo-Meier et al., 2018). Transgender refers to individuals whose sex assigned at birth is different from their current gender identity or gender expression (Turban Ehrensaft, 2017). Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Treating Transgender Youth" essay for you Create order The term transgender has been used as an umbrella term to describe all individuals who experience incongruence between their internal gender identity and birth-assigned sex, however this term also includes people who identify in between boy/girl or man/woman (Turban, 2017). New terms are emerging, including gender nonconforming, gender fluid, gender queer or gender non-binary that capture the broader group of gender-variant youth, beyond only individuals who identify as transgender (Connolly et al., 2016). Prevalence of TGNC Youth and Psychiatric Co-Morbidity The size of the transgender or gender nonconforming (TGNC) population has been historically difficult to measure and likely underestimated due to the range of stigma, discrimination and prejudice these individuals experience, which reduces self-identifying substantially (Cicero Wesp, 2017). According to recent research, the prevalence of young people who identify as TGNC in the United States is between 0.17% 1.3%, significantly higher than previously estimated (Connolly et al. 2016). In another important large school-based study of adolescents to determine the prevalence of TGNC identity in Minnesota was 2.7% and varied significantly across gender, race/ethnicity, and economic indicators (Eisenberg et al., 2017). Other previous research identified the rate of adults who identify as transgender as closer to 0.6% (Timmins et al., 2017). With additional research designed to specifically identify TGNC youth found for those seeking gender-affirming surgeries, middle and high school students were as high as 1% and 0.17% of college students vs. 0.015% of adults (Connolly et al., 2016). While incidence may still be fairly low as percentage of overall population, there has been a significant increase in the number of TGNC youth seeking medical and mental health services in the past decade (Shumer et al., 2016). As such, the mental health field is at a crossroads in defining standards of care given the ever-evolving understanding of gender development (Edwards-Leeper et al., 2016). While research identifies that there is no one specific biological, psychological or social factor that explains the development of gender-identity in youth, adolescence is considered the peak of identity formation and a particularly vulnerable time for TGNC youth (Edwards-Leeper et al., 2016). While still small as percentage of the overall population, TGNC adolescents experience elevated rates of mental health problems as compared to their cisgender peers (Chodzen et al., 2018); cisgender describes individuals who have a gender identity congruent with the sex they were assigned at birth (Cicero Wesp, 2017). Research has continually identified higher rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm behaviors and suicidality that are statistically significant in the TGNC group vs the general population (Turban Ehrensaft, 2017). While research has continually found higher rates of mental health issues among TGNC samples (Timmins et al., 2017), estimates of depression rates have varied from as low as 25.7% to as high as 64%, with a recent, important longitudinal study of TGNC youth identifying depressive symptoms in 41.3% of TGNC students (vs 11.8% for cisgender students) (Connolly et al., 2016). Similarly, this study found higher rates of suicidality of 19.8% in TGNC (vs just 4.1% for cisgender students) and self-harm rates of 45.5% (vs. 23.4% for cisgender students) (Connolly et al., 2016). Other studies have shown TGNC youth are at an increased risk of sucidality as young as age 5, increasing with age (Turban Ehrensaft, 2017). Other research has found that 38% of TGNC youth had an anxiety disorder diagnosis (Reisner et al., 2016) and of youth who present at gender clinics, anxiety disorders were present in 16.3 to 55% of patients (Turban Ehrensaft, 2017). Given the significant rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm behaviors and suicidality in the TGNC youth population, understanding how best to approach treatment with this vulnerable population is imperative (Turban, 2017). The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) recognizes that much psychological distress is socially induced and not inherent to being transgender or gender nonconforming (Weber-Main et al., 2018). However, the TGNC community is one of the most stigmatized and marginalized groups in the United States and the health of TGNC individuals is at risk due to exposure to such discrimination (Cicero Wesp, 2017). Many, but not all, TGNC individuals experience gender dysphoria (GD), which has been defined as: emotional distress stemming from incongruence between an individuals birth-assigned sex and their subjective sense of self as male, female, or an alternate gender (Chen et al., 2016). Because there is no one experience of gender, WPATH recognizes that there are a variety of therapeutic options for individuals seeking care for GD, with differences in both the number and type of interventions, as well as the order in which these take place (Shumer et al., 2016). Other research confirms the lack of consensus regarding the best approach to clinical care with gender-diverse and transgender youth (Chen, et al., 2016). WHAT CAUSES IT? Bechard, et al., GD, but also other factors (NO?) According to the DSM-5, both children and teens meet the criteria for gender dysphoria (previously referred to as Gender Identity Disorder) if they experience a substantial difference between their experienced and assigned-at-birth gender, which causes significant distress or impaired functioning that lasts for at least 6 months (Shumer et al., 2017). [HERE OR LATER While it is estimated that of children who suffer from GD, only between 10-20% will have GD that persists into adolescence (Bizic et al., 2018).]]] Despite the lack of definitive consensus among mental health providers regarding treatment, both WPATH Standards of Care and The Endocrine Society clinical practice guidelines define comprehensive approaches aimed to alleviate mental health discrepancies and improve outcomes (Shumer et al., 2016). Due to the wide variety of gender identity and expressions, affirming a childs communication of his/her authentic gender is paramount for healthy growth and development (Cicero Werp, 2017). Pioneering research indicates the benefits of gender affirmative care, which encourages the best prospect for individuals to follow their own paths to find positive emotional welfare (Edwards-Leeper et al., 2016). Under the belief that gender may be fluid rather than binary, supporting a TGNC youth living in the gender that feels most real and comfortable promotes exploration of gender without presuming a fixed trajectory with regard to gender identity is the very definition of affirmative care (Chen et al., 2016). According to WPATH, gender affirmative care involves different protocols and can include physical/medical (both reversible and irreversible) interventions, social/environmental support, as well as psychological interventions (Weber-Main et al., 2018). Gender affirmative protocols, including early social transition, pubertal blockade, cross-sex hormonal therapy, and gender-affirming surgery in adulthood show promising early data on more favorable outcomes for transgender or TGNC youth (Turban Ehrensaft, 2017). In addition, the first longitudinal study of patients undergoing comprehensive therapy for GD has shown data to support the notion that appropriate medical treatment for transgender or TGNC youth can lead to improved psychological functioning, with some question about the impact that puberty suppression (as part of the treatment protocols) have on this improved functioning (Connolly et al., 2016). Research indicates that the purpose of puberty suppression (or hormone blockers) is to relieve suffering caused by the development of secondary sex characteristics in puberty, to provide additional time to make a balanced decision regarding the permanent gender reassignment surgeries and to make living in the new gender identity more passable (Vrouenraets et al., 2015). There is evidence that TGNC youth who receive puberty blockers (as one component of gender affirmative care) show improvement in symptoms of psychological distress, including a reduction in self-report depression, anxiety, self-harm behaviors and suicidality. Given that puberty suppression falls into the category of fully reversible medical/physical interventions and often is an initial step into treatment (Connolly et al., 2016), it is important to understand how pubertal suppression impacts rates of depression, anxiety, self-harm behaviors and suicidality in transgender or TGNC youth (ages 9-12 years old at the start of the study). Treating Psychiatric Co-morbidity Due to the higher rates of psychiatric comorbidity, the positive results or gender-affirming therapy and supported social transition in childhood are encouraging (Connolly et al., 2016). The first longitudinal study of patients receiving comprehensive therapy treating GD supports the conclusion that providing gender variant youth with proper medical treatment can improve psychological functioning. In addition, this study found that psychiatric symptoms might actually be driven by medical incongruence between mind and body, not primarily psychiatric (Connolly et al., 2016). Evidence also suggests that social transition in transgender youth (name, clothing, physical appearance, pronouns, etc) contributes to improved psychological functioning that comparable to medical interventions (Connolly et al., 2016). GD While it is estimated that of children who suffer from GD, only between 10-20% will have GD that persists into adolescence (Bizic et al., 2018). Seeking treatment Importance of mental health assessment (Bechard et al., 2017) Pioneering research indicates the benefits of gender affirmative care, which delivers the best prospect for TGNC youth to achieve positive emotional health. Interventions that align with gender affirmative care vary by developmental stage and cover both physical and mental health (Edwards-Leeper et al., 2016). This more accurate understanding of the prevalence of gender nonconformity in youth vs adults impacts the direction of future research, with potential increased focus on youth (Connolly et al., 2016). Evidence suggests improved psychological outcomes (with less internalizing psychopathology) for transgender adolescents who receive both puberty suppression and cross-sex hormonal treatment, outlined by the World Professional Association of Transgender Health Standards and the Endocrine Society guidelines from 2009. However, the author highlights the lack of consensus around treating prepubertal transgender children (WPATH). There are roughly 3 clinical approaches; 1) utilizing psychotherapeutic interventions to help transgender children identity with their birth-assigned sex (assuming gender identity is malleable), 2) exploring gender identity with the youth without any specific interventions to lessen cross-gender identification, but advising against social transition, 3) promoting open exploration of gender identity, including support of social transition for children who desire it. The benefits of early social transition yielding desirable outcomes was first published in 2016 by , et all. Subsequent studies have revealed further support, including child-report metrics for transgender youth who have socially transitioned showing depression and anxiety rates on par with cisgender peers; levels of self-worth also matched controls. These findings are significant, given that postpubertal social transition for transgender adolescents has been generally accepted as advantageous, however prepubertal social transition has been fairly contentious and unsupported until now (Olson G?lgez, 2017) Limitations New terms are emerging, including gender nonconforming, gender fluid, gender-queer or gender non-binary and additional research is needed to understand both prevalence and psychiatric comorbidity in the broader group of gender-variant youth (Connolly et al., 2016). While there has been an increase in recent research on optimal treatment protocols for transgender youth, few studies have been conducted on gender non-binary youth, such as understanding the effects of gender-affirming therapy; including, how to support a child in social transition if the child does not identify with any one specific gender? How do hormone blockers or affirming hormone therapy affect this population? In addition to expanding awareness for the need for more research on the experiences of subgroups of gender nonconforming youth, it is important to gather information from individuals in the general population, not just young people who present at gender clinics (a dominant source of past samples). Implications for understanding prevalence, psychological functioning, and treatment options are significant. While the authors provide an improved understanding of the prevalence of gender nonconformity/ transgender in adolescents/young adults, there is a lack of knowledge ab out transgender children younger than 10. As illustrated, more research on these subgroups of gender nonconforming youth will be critical before treatment protocols can be generalized. -Future research would benefit from considering subgroup differences (gender variant sample including both binary and nonbinary identification) (Reisner et al 2016) References Bechard, M., VanderLaan, D. P., Wood, H., Wasserman, L., Zucker, K. J. (2017). Psychosocial and psychological vulnerability in adolescents with gender dysphoria: A proof of principle study. Journal of Sex Marital Therapy, 43(7), 678â€Å"688. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2016.1232325 Bizic, M.R, Jeftovic, M., Pusica, S., Stojanovic, B., Duisin, D.,Vujovic, S., Rakic, V., Djordjevic, M.L. (2018). Gender Dysphoria: Bioethical Aspects of Medical Treatment. BioMed Research International, Vol 2018 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1155/2018/9652305 Chen, D, Hidalgo, M.A., Leibowitz, S., Leininger J., Simons, L., Finlayson, C., Garofalo, R., (2016). Multidisciplinary Care for Gender-Diverse Youth: Narrative Review and Unique Model of Gender-Affirming Care, Transgender Health, 1.1 https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/10.1089/trgh.2016.0009 Chen, D., Edwards-Leeper, L., Stancin, T., Tishelman, A. (2018). Advancing the practice of pediatric psychology with transgender youth: State of the science, ongoing controversies, and future directions. Clinical Practice in Pediatric Psychology, 6(1), 73â€Å"83. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1037/cpp0000229 Chodzen, G., Hidalgo, M. A., Chen, D., Garofalo, R. (2018). Minority stress factors associated with depression and anxiety among transgender and gender-nonconforming youth. Journal of Adolescent Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.07.006 Cicero, E. C., Wesp, L. M. (2017). Supporting the Health and Well-Being of Transgender Students. Journal of School Nursing, 33(2), 95â€Å"108. https://doi.org/10.1177/1059840516689705 Connolly, M. D., Zervos, M. J., Barone, C. J., II, Johnson, C. C., Joseph, C. L. M. (2016). The mental health of transgender youth: Advances in understanding. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(5), 489â€Å"495. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016 Edwards-Leeper, L., Leibowitz, S., Sangganjanavanich, V. F. (2016). Affirmative practice with transgender and gender nonconforming youth: Expanding the model. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 3(2), 165â€Å"172. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd000 Eisenberg, M. E., Gower, A. L., McMorris, B. J., Rider, G. N., Shea, G., Coleman, E. (2017). Original article: Risk and Protective Factors in the Lives of Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 61, 521â€Å"526. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2017.04.014 Keo-Meier, C., Ehrensaft, D. (2018). Introduction to the gender affirmative model. In C. Keo-Meier D. Ehrensaft (Eds.), The gender affirmative model: An interdisciplinary approach to supporting transgender and gender expansive children. (pp. 3â€Å"19). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/0000095-001 Olson, K. R., G?lgez, S. (2017). Early findings from the TransYouth project: Gender development in transgender children. Child Development Perspectives. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/cdep.12268 Reisner, S. L., Katz-Wise, S. L., Gordon, A. R., Corliss, H. L., Austin, S. B. (2016). Original article: Social Epidemiology of Depression and Anxiety by Gender Identity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59, 203â€Å"208. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.04.006 Shumer, D. E., Nokoff, N. J., Spack, N. P. (2016). Advances in the Care of Transgender Children and Adolescents. Advances in Pediatrics, 63, 79â€Å"102. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.yapd.2016.04.018 Timmins, L., Rimes, K. A., Rahman, Q. (2017). Minority stressors and psychological distress in transgender individuals. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 4(3), 328â€Å"340. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000237.supp (Supplemental) Turban, J. L. (2017). Transgender youth: The building evidence base for early social transition. Journal of the American Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(2), 101â€Å"102. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.11.008 Turban, J. L., Ehrensaft, D. (2017). Research review: Gender identity in youth: Treatment paradigms and controversies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12833 Vrouenraets, L. J. J. J., Fredriks, A. M., Hannema, S. E., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., de Vries, M. C. (2015). Early medical treatment of children and adolescents with gender dysphoria: An empirical ethical study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 57(4), 367â€Å"373. https://doi-org.dominican.idm.oclc.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.04.004 World Professional Association for Transgender Health. (2011). Standards of care for the health of transsexual, transgender, and gender nonconforming people. Retrieved from https://www.wpath.org/media/cms/Documents/SOC%20v7/SOC%20V7_English.pdf