Summary

Researchers used first-visit surveys and clinic records from 173 teenagers under 16 referred to 10 Canadian gender clinics. They tested predictions of the 'rapid-onset gender dysphoria' idea, which suggests some teens develop a trans identity suddenly, often under peer influence. They compared teens who said they had realised their gender was different within about the past year with those who had known longer. The recent group did not have more mental health or developmental diagnoses or self-harm, and did not rely more on online or trans friends. They had less anxiety. The authors concluded the data did not support the idea. Critics, including Littman, replied that time since realising is not the same as onset at or after puberty, so the study may not have tested the idea at all. The small recent group, the under-16 limit and the clinic-only sample further limit what it can show.

Key findings

• Študija je preučevala 173 najstnikov, mlajših od 16 let, ob prvem obisku zaradi zaviralcev pubertete ali hormonov v 10 kanadskih klinikah za spol v letih 2017–2019.
• „Nedavno“ je pomenilo, da je bila trenutna starost najstnika v 1 letu od starosti, pri kateri je rekel, da je spoznal, da je njegov spol drugačen. Ker so bile starosti v celih letih, je to lahko zajelo skoraj 2 leti.
• Po prilagoditvi za starost in spol po rojstvu nedavno spoznavajoči niso imeli pogosteje depresije, stiske, zabeleženih diagnoz, spolnega nelagodja, samopoškodovanja ali poskusov samomora, niti se niso bolj zanašali na spletno, trans ali starševsko podporo.
• Nedavno spoznavajoči so imeli manj anksioznosti in so bili precej manj verjetno uporabniki marihuane v zadnjem letu (približno desetkrat manj), kar je nasprotno temu, kar napoveduje ideja.
• Cela skupina je imela velike potrebe: 51,6 % je imelo zabeleženo diagnozo duševnega zdravja, 25,9 % razvojno diagnozo, kot sta avtizem ali ADHD, 67,9 % pa je poročalo o samopoškodovanju v zadnjem letu.
• Rezultati so bili ob ohlapnejši 2-letni opredelitvi v glavnem enaki, razen da bi bila ugotovitev o marihuani zdaj lahko naključje.
• Objavljena pisma Lise Littman in Joanne Sinai sta trdila, da študija ni merila nelagodja s hitrim nastopom, ker ni nikoli preučila, kdaj se je nelagodje začelo glede na pubertet.

Abstract

Although emergence of gender dysphoria at puberty is long established, a distinct pathway of rapid onset gender dysphoria was recently hypothesized based on parental data. Using adolescent clinical data, we tested a series of associations that would be consistent with this pathway, however, our results did not support the rapid onset gender dysphoria hypothesis.

Conclusion

We did not find support within a clinical population for a new etiologic phenomenon of rapid onset gender dysphoria during adolescence. Among adolescents under age 16 years seen in specialized gender clinics, associations between more recent gender knowledge and factors hypothesized to be involved in rapid onset gender dysphoria were either not statistically significant, or were in the opposite direction to what would be hypothesized. This putative phenomenon was posited based on survey data from a convenience sample of parents recruited from websites, and may represent the perceptions or experiences of those parents, rather than of adolescents, particularly those who may enter into clinical care. Similar analyses should be replicated using additional clinical and community data sources.