Study: Most children grow out of gender confusion

by WorldTribune Staff, April 4, 2024

For most children, gender confusion is just a phase that they will grow out of and go on to feel content with their lives as men and women, according to a study that has been conducted over the past 15 years.

Researchers from the University of Groningen carried out the study involving more than 2,700 children from the Netherlands. It tracked them from age 11 to their mid-twenties, the Daily Mail reported on April 3.

Every three years, the individuals were asked how they felt about their gender.

At the beginning of the study, around 11 percent, or one in ten of the children, expressed “gender non-contentedness.”

By the age of 25, however, just 4 percent, or one in 25, said they “often” or “sometimes” felt discontent with their gender.

“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,” the researchers said.

Published in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior, the study found that around 19 percent became more content with their gender over 15 years, while just 2 percent became less comfortable. Overall, 78 percent felt the same.

The authors further noted that “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.”

Patrick Brown, a fellow at the conservative Ethics and Public Policy Center noted “This study provides even more reason to be skeptical towards aggressive steps to facilitate gender transition in childhood and adolescence.”

Brown added, “The fact that rates of satisfaction are lower even just a few years later suggests that for the vast majority of people, prudence and caution, rather than a rush towards permanent surgeries or hormone therapies, will be the best approach for teenagers struggling to make sense of the world and their place in it.”

A recent report by health data analytics firm Definitive Healthcare revealed that the rate of gender dysphoria increased in every state in America except South Dakota from 2018 to 2022 across all ages. In some states it has increased by over 200 percent in just four years.

This has gone hand in hand with a massive increase in transgender surgeries and so called “gender affirming care.”


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