A majority of children who say they are gender-confused grow out of those feelings by adulthood, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by researchers in the Netherlands and first reported by the Daily Mail, tracked over 2,700 individuals from age 11 up to their mid-twenties who were periodically surveyed about their feelings towards their gender identity every three years.
The results revealed that approximately one in ten children expressed some degree of "gender non-contentedness" during the study period. However, by the age of 25, only one-in-25 individuals reported feeling "often" or "sometimes" discontent with their gender.
These findings suggest that while feelings of gender confusion may be relatively common among children and adolescents, the vast majority of individuals who experience such doubts ultimately resolve them by adulthood.
The researchers from the University of Groningen, who conducted the study, concluded that most individuals who express dissatisfaction with their gender identity during childhood and adolescence eventually come to feel comfortable with their gender as they mature.
"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 stated.
Over the fifteen-year duration of the study, participants were asked if they ever wished to be of the opposite sex. The majority of respondents consistently reported similar feelings throughout the study period, while nearly all of the remaining participants indicated that they felt increasingly comfortable with their gender over time.
Only a small minority, approximately 2 percent of respondents, reported feeling less comfortable with their gender than before.
"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," authors of the study added.
The study is one of the longest on the topic of gender identity among children. It comes at a time when rates of individuals being diagnosed with gender dysphoria have skyrocketed across the US.
