Only 2,5 percent of the group had re-identified as the gender they were assigned at birth
Children who transition to a new gender with social changes (adopting new names, pronouns, haircuts and clothing) will likely continue to identify with that gender five years later, according to a report published Wednesday, the first study of its kind.
The data comes from Trans Youth Project, which follows 317 children in the United States y Canada who went through the so-called social transition between the ages of 3 and 12. The average age of the participants who made the transition is 6,5 years.
The vast majority of the group still identified with their new gender five years later., according to the study, and many had started taking hormonal drugs as teenagers to bring about biological changes that would align with their gender identities.
The study found that only 2,5 percent of the group had re-identified as the gender they were assigned at birth.
"There's this kind of idea that kids are going to start those things and change their minds.", He said kristina olson, psychologist at Princeton University who led the study. “And at least in our sample, we're not finding that.".
Family support
However, she notes that the study may not be generalizable to all trans children. Two-thirds of the participants were white, for example, and the parents tended to have higher incomes and more education than the general population. All parents provided Sufficient support to facilitate full social transitions.
And because the study began nearly a decade ago, it's unclear whether it reflects current patterns, when far more kids identify as trans. Two-thirds of the study participants were trans girls who were assigned boys at birth. But in recent years, youth gender clinics around the world have reported a surge of adolescent patients assigned girls at birth who recently identified as trans or non-binary children.
trans kids
The study found that 94% of the group still identified as trans five years later. Other 3,5% identified as non-binary, which means that they did not identify themselves as boys or girls. That label wasn't used as much when the researchers started the study as it is today.
At the end of the study period, 60% had started taking hormones or drugs that block puberty. The researchers are still collecting data on how many of the adolescent participants had undergone gender surgeries, explained Dr. Olson.
Eight children, or 2,5%, had reverted to the gender they were assigned at birth. Seven of them had socially transitioned before age 6 and transitioned back before age 9. The eighth boy, at age 11, reverted after starting puberty-blocking drugs.
