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Research Track
Oral Presentations
Ghazel Tellawi, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow
University of Minnesota- Program in Human Sexuality; National Center for Gender Spectrum Health
University of Minnesota- Program in Human Sexuality; National Center for Gender Spectrum Health
Nothing to disclose
Background : Body dysphoria is a key component when considering the experiences of gender diverse pre-pubescent children. Therefore, it is vital that we increase our knowledge of body dysphoria in order to not only provide proper support to alleviate the distress of children with body dysphoria but also to understand the extent to which body dysphoria is related to overall gender dysphoria. The purpose of this presentation is to offer a way of operationalizing body dysphoria in order to better understand gender diverse children’s experiences.
Methods : The presentation will consist of quantitative and qualitative data drawn from a clinical chart review of gender diverse children’s (ages 4-11) responses to a semi-structured interview, the Gender Preference Interview (GPI; Cohen-Kettenis & Pfafflin, 2003). While there are a range of problems with this interview, certain items were used by research staff to qualitatively identify themes in children’s responses. Quantitatively, a severity of body dysphoria score was also calculated.
Results : Qualitative analyses of the children’s responses yielded six themes: 1) current body dysphoria; 2) anticipatory dysphoria; 3) gender identity statements; 4) gender expression; 5) gender attribution: and 6) general contentment with self. Preliminary data on the first theme (n=44), current body dysphoria, revealed genital-specific dysphoria (47.7% of children), non-genital gender dysphoria (40.9%), and non-gender-related dysphoria (54.5%). Quantitative analyses revealed children who were assigned female at birth experienced more severe body dysphoria than children assigned male at birth, F(1, 45) = 4.93, p = 0.031. Age was not significantly correlated with severity of body dysphoria, r = .183, p = 0.264. Because data collection and entry is ongoing, the sample size for these qualitative and quantitative analysis will increase up to approximately 50 children by the time of the presentation.
Conclusions : These findings highlight the prevalence of various types of dysphoria, children’s ability to express these experiences, and that the theme of current body dysphoria can be coded for research purposes. Additionally, creation of the severity scale provides a method for operationalizing body dysphoria. While our sample of gender diverse children experienced these types of dysphoria, there was no comparison group, thus it is unclear whether their experiences are different than children who are not gender diverse. As we continue to enter cases, we will further our understanding of body dysphoria, including prevalence, severity, relationship with client variables, and methods for assessment. This information is critical for developing effective treatments for body dysphoria in gender diverse children.