Thread by @buttonslives

🚨New long-term study from The Netherlands finds the desire to be the opposite sex in adolescence is common, temporary, and declines with age

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A new Dutch study using long-term data found the majority of adolescents expressing a desire to be the opposite sex no longer felt that way in adulthood, adding to a body of research showing that these feelings are often temporary and decline with age. buttonslives.news/p/new-long-ter…

The study followed 2772 adolescents in the Netherlands through adulthood, from ages 11-26, in a sample comprising both clinical and general populations. 53% were male. Data was collected and analyzed from participants at six different time points between 2001 and 2020.

The study used a metric called “gender non-contentedness,” defining it as feeling unhappy with one's sex.

To measure gender non-contentedness, the study relied on responses to the statement: "I wish to be of the opposite sex.”

Findings revealed that approximately 11% of participants reported gender non-contentedness in early adolescence, decreasing to a prevalence of 4% by around age 26. Only 3 individuals (0.1%) consistently reported gender non-contentedness throughout adolescence and adulthood.

A majority of adolescents surveyed conformed to three identifiable trajectories:
78% experienced no gender non-contentedness
19% experienced decreasing gender non-contentedness
2% experienced increasing gender non-contentedness

Gender non-contentedness was most prevalent around age 11, and girls were more likely than boys to report it at ages 13 and 16. By approximately age 25, individuals on the decreasing gender non-contentedness trajectory no longer reported experiencing these feelings.

The authors posit that the large percentage of individuals with “temporary, declining gender dissatisfaction” may be attributed to the extended duration of the study, unlike typical research in this field, which often involves short-term follow-ups.

The study found “a clear declining trend in gender non-contentedness with age.” This was consistent with other studies, like a study from Taiwan, which found 8% (of 1806 children) who experienced gender dissatisfaction around age 13 no longer did by around age 22.

Individuals with both an increasing and decreasing trajectory of gender non-contentedness had lower global self-worth, more behavioral and emotional problems, and more often had a homosexual or bisexual sexual orientation compared to individuals without gender non-contentedness.

The authors made several important acknowledgements regarding research that is often overlooked or disregarded by activists. They identified a group that began reporting gender non-contentedness in mid to late adolescence, supporting rapid-onset gender dysphoria (ROGD).

The authors noted research indicating that children who socially transition are likely to experience persistent gender dysphoria, alongside longitudinal studies showing that 61-98% of gender dysphoric children who do not transition do not retain these feelings into adulthood.

The authors recognized research indicating that childhood gender dysphoria is linked to homosexuality in adulthood. The new study corroborated this, showing a decreasing gender non-contentedness trajectory was a significant predictor of homosexuality/bisexuality in adulthood.

Because this study draws from both clinical and general population groups over an extended period of time, it offers "more reliable epidemiological knowledge" about how prevalent feelings of dissatisfaction with one’s sex are among adolescents.

The researchers conclude that their study results should reassure teenagers who feel unsure about their identity and desire to be the opposite sex during adolescence, that this is a normal and common experience.

The authors hope their findings will “provide some perspective” to clinicians who treat gender dysphoric youth of how common it is for young people, both in the general population and those receiving mental health care, to question their sex.