(Mirror Daily, United States) – Children need to be loved and supported by their family no matter the gender they identify with. A child that feels at ease with himself and the people around him is a happy child. And according to a small study, family support is essential for transgender children’s mental health.

An associate professor of psychology at the Washington University, Kristina Olson, conducted a small study in order to determine if family support is essential for transgender children’s mental health. The results were consistent with her theory, as she discovered that transgender children that benefit from family and community support do not suffer from depression or anxiety.

In order to reach these conclusions, Olson gathered a sample of 73 transgender children with ages between 3 and 12, their siblings (when there was the case) and 73 children that were nontransgender.

After interviewing all of the children and gathering information about their thoughts and feelings, the assistant professor of psychology discovered that the children that were social transitioning had equal levels of depression as the nontransgender ones.

She did discover a slight elevation in the rates of anxiety among transgender children than in the other group, but they were within limits and did not pose any matters of concern.

The results of the study might be promising, but Olson admitted the fact that parents who are not supportive of their children’s gender preferences probably didn’t want them involved in study.

She added that the parents of most children that participated in the study were selected on a random basis from conferences, support groups and a special created website.

The Washington University professor says that there are two major types of gender non-conformism in children. One the one hand there are the social transitioning children and on the other the gender neutral ones.

The kids who are social transitioning are the transgender children. They already fully identify themselves with the members of the opposite gender. In order to feel better they adopt the fashion style of the gender that they feel comfortable with.

In the case of social transitioning kids the scientists have found that family support is essential for transgender children’s mental health. They get through the change faster and are way happier when they do not feel that their loved ones agree with their choices

The gender neutral children are those who feel good with their own gender, but feel an attraction for the toys and clothes of the opposite one. They have also been called gender fluid children.