The experience of gender dysphoria for pre-pubescent children and their families: a review of the literature

In recent years, the experience of gender dysphoria has gained public prominence through an explosion of sensationalised interest in the popular media. However, childhood gender dysphoria remains poorly understood and both parents and children often find themselves having to educate professionals around them. This not only creates a sense of disconnect between family and professional, but also means that social workers can often be unaware of the myriad of competing perspectives that seek to explain gender variance. This review of the literature seeks to provide interested social workers with an overview of gender dysphoria, current research in the field and theoretical paradigms, with a view to promoting understanding and better practice with families in this little understood field.

This is the peer reviewed version of the following article: Gregor, C., Davidson, S., and Hingley-Jones, H. (2016) The experience of gender dysphoria for pre-pubescent children and their families: a review of the literature. Child & Family Social Work, 21: 339–346. doi: 10.1111/cfs.12150, which has been published in final form at http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cfs.12150. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Self-Archiving.

Article first published online: 3 Apr. 2014