Most kids grow out of gender confusion, long-term Dutch study indicates
By Valerie Richardson, Washington Times.
A landmark Dutch study found that most adolescents ultimately outgrow their gender confusion, fueling the growing unease over the advisability of treating those under 18 with gender-transition drugs and surgeries.
The newly published research in the Archives of Sexual Behavior tracking 2,772 adolescents into early adulthood said that 11% reported “gender non-contentedness” at age 11, a figure that decreased with age and fell to 4% by ages 24-26.
“Gender non-contentedness, while being relatively common during early adolescence, in general decreases with age and appears to be associated with a poorer self-concept and mental health throughout development,” said the paper by medical researchers at the University of Groningen.
The study divided children into three trajectories based on their response to the statement, “I wish to be of the opposite sex.” The participants had three options: “never,” “sometimes,” or “often.”
The majority, or 78%, said they had no gender non-contentedness; 19% had decreasing gender non-contentedness over the course of the study, and just 2% had increasing gender non-contentedness.
Most of the study participants who expressed increasing gender dissatisfaction over the years were female. Those whose non-contentedness rose and fell were also more likely to have lower self-worth during adolescence than those without gender non-contentedness.
“The results of the current study might help adolescents to realize that it is normal to have some doubts about one’s identity and one’s gender identity during this age period and that this is also relatively common,” said the paper.
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