Thursday, October 12, 2017

I Don’t Trust Surveys

When I see an article about surveys my first thought is who is doing the survey, will it be a hatchet job or will it be a legitimate survey. Can you imagine a trans survey done by the Trump administration verses one by the Obama administration, It is all in the questions asked and the way the data is analyzed.
Swedish government orders study into mental health conditions of transgender people
The Local SE
12 October 2017

The Swedish government has ordered the Public Health Authority to carry out an in depth study into the living conditions and mental health of transgender people.

The decision comes after a report showed that mental illness is widespread among transgender people in Sweden and a large percentage of them have at some point considered taking their own lives.

The authorities will also allocate project grants to non-profit organizations working with mental health and to prevent suicide among transgender people, with a focus on the young.

"Young trans people are a group where suicidal tendencies have increased in an especially clear way -- we can't have that. We need to make targeted efforts," said Minister for Social Affairs Annika Strandhäll.
[…]
A report based on a comprehensive survey of transgender people shows that 60 percent of those between the ages of 15 and 19 have considered taking their lives at some point over the past year, while 40 percent have attempted suicide.
They can’t just study the suicidal tendencies but they also need to study the reasons why.

If you just have a question that asked have you ever thought about suicide it would make us sound like a bunch of neurotic nut cases, but if you ask if you have been harassed, bullied, discriminated against, if you have an accepting family, and other factors that might contribute to anxieties you will have to different findings.

In the first case the study would find that are prone to mental health problems because we are trans and the other case will find that our problems are the result of society pressures.

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