The National Institutes of Health is conducting a study that contrasts “gender variant” kids with “straight cisgender” kids, cisgender lesbian kids, cisgender gay kids, and cisgender bisexual kids. Funding has been granted to the University of Minnesota to study 1,200 transgender-identifying adolescents.

The grant for the project explains the study this way:

“Gender variant individuals — that is, those whose experience of their gender doesn’t match their biological sex — are experiencing an unprecedented moment in the spotlight of American culture. However, this group is poorly understood, particularly its youth.”

According to researchers, kids who identify as transgender suffer due to increased “victimization, suicide involvement, substance use and high risk sexual behaviors compared to cisgender people (i.e., matching biological sex and gender identity).”

The study will compare said youth to those who have penises and are certain they’re boys, and have vaginas and are sure they’re girls.

Some of the points of comparison will be drug use, bullying, sexual interaction, “prejudiced-based victimization,” and family support.

“Findings will provide rich information about the health needs of gender variant youth and the training or material needs of health care providers. This information will be used to create youth-focused educational modules and materials to be used in training programs for health professional students and health care providers in clinical and school settings, with the ultimate goal of improving the well-being of this vulnerable population of young people.”

So far, the two-and-a-half-year study (which began in 2016) has cost taxpayers over $400,000.