Gender Dysphoria
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Gender Dysphoria
Introduction
Many people identify themselves as males or females. This form of gender identity is sometimes called binary identity. However, some people may feel that their gender identity is different from their biological sex (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). For example, some people may have female genitals but identify themselves as males. This situation is called gender dysphoria. The purpose of this paper is to summarize the provided article that talks about gender dysphoria.
Summary of the Article
The article “Gender dysphoria in adolescence: current perspectives” by Kaltiala-Heino et al. (2018) discusses gender dysphoria based on different topics with an emphasis on adolescence. Kaltiala-Heino et al. (2018) state that the DSM-5 acknowledges the inconsistencies between the expressed/experienced gender and the biological sex at birth. This situation results in clinical impairment or distress in occupational, social, and any other important areas of functioning. People with gender dysphoria desire to be treated as the opposite gender. The International Classification of Diseases ((CD)-10 provides transsexualism/transsexual as an alternative name for gender dysphoria.
The article suggests that male to female transsexualism prevalence is 6.8/100,000 people while female to male transsexualism prevalence is 2.6/100,000 among adults. On the other hand, between 0.17% and 1.3% of adolescents and young adults experience gender dysphoria. According to Kaltiala-Heino et al. (2018), identity is a way one describes, understands, and expresses themselves, as well as the reflection of those entities to others. Gender identity, therefore, is an individual’s sense of being male, female, or another gender. The article recognizes two theories on which the development of gender identity is based cognitive and social theories (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). They argue that human beings are active constructs of cognitive schemas, including gender, in continuous interaction with the environment.
The authors describe gender dysphoria in childhood (GDC)as the feeling of incongruence between the experience (psychological) gender and the sex assigned at birth. The ICD-10 provides a corresponding diagnosis for the same (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). For most children, gender dysphoria (GD) is determined between the ages of 10 and 13, whether or not GD will persist or desist. GD always recedes puberty in children. The most commonly used guidelines for treating GD in children include those of the Endocrine Society and the Standard of Care from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). These guidelines are based on the Dutch Model protocol that recommends medical treatment if GD intensifies in puberty.
The authors also looked into the outcome of ethical debates around medical intervention for gender dysphoria in adolescence. Although the Dutch protocol is widely used, it has some critics. Most of the critics have doubts due to the lack of data about long-term physical and psychological outcomes (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). Reports regarding puberty suppression treatment have indicated positive outcomes but research is limited. Some issues hindering such treatment include severe psychiatric comorbidities among others. Psychiatric disorders among adolescents with GD include anxiety and depression disorders.
GD is associated with a negative influence on parental relationships among adolescents. Adolescents with GD also face peer relationship difficulties. They also tend to have reduced availability of potential partners (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). GD may lead to the impairment of the academic performance of adolescents. It also leads to disadvantaged socioeconomic status. The reason for the increasing number of adolescents presenting with GD is not known (Kaltiala-Heino et al., 2018). However, it could be due to increasing social acceptance.
Conclusion
The article provided a detailed discussion regarding gender dysphoria in adolescence. People with gender dysphoria desire to be treated as the opposite gender. There have been an increasing number of adolescents experiencing GD currently. This was a summary of the article “Gender dysphoria in adolescence: current perspectives”. The summary covers all the areas discussed in the article.
References
Kaltiala-Heino, R., Bergman, H., Työläjärvi, M., & Frisén, L. (2018). Gender dysphoria in adolescence: current perspectives. Adolescent health, medicine and therapeutics, 9, 31. https://doi.org/10.2147/ahmt.s135432