Quick Facts on Gender Dysphoria
En EspañolA brief overview of the signs and symptoms of gender dysphoria, and how it's treated in children and adolescents.
Overview
Children with gender dysphoria are often referred to as “transgender,” a term that describes someone who does not identify with the sex characteristics he or she was born with. Being transgender is not a psychiatric disorder, but it can be a source of significant stress for children, who often experience bullying, exclusion, and other forms of stigma. Gender dysphoria is diagnosed only if a child experiences severe distress due to being transgender, or has impaired functioning at school, at home, or in social settings.
Symptoms
- Marked incongruence between the gender a child feels he or she experiences and the gender he or she was biologically assigned to
- Feelings of being “trapped” inside a body whose gender the child does not identify with
- Strong preferences for clothing, toys, and activities commonly associated with the opposite gender
- Assertions by the child that he or she is another gender or plans to grow up to be the other gender
- Intense dislike for one’s own sexual anatomy
- Ardent desire to obtain sex characteristics of the gender the child experiences
Treatment of Gender Dysphoria
Psychotherapy can be used to treat gender dysphoria by helping a child understand and manage the stress that gender dysphoria causes.