PSYA3 Gender - Gender Dysphoria

Biological Influences: Gender Dysphoria

Psychosocial Explanations AO1

- Describes an individual’s experience of feeling uncomfortable with the gender assigned to them at birth

1. Mental Illness
- some suggest it is a mental illness which may be linked to childhood trauma

- Coates et al (1991) boy who had developed GID proposing a defensive reaction to boy’s mother having depression. Trauma happened when boy was 3 when children are gender sensitive. Suggests trauma may have led to gender fantasy as means of resolving anxiety

2. Mother-Son Relationships
- Stoller (1975) GID = result from distorted parental attitudes. In interviews Stoller observed that they had close mother-son relationships. Likely to lead to greater female identification.

Psychosocial Explanations AO2/3

X: AO2: Mental Illness - Cole et al (1997)
- studied 435 people experiencing gender dysphoria, reported range of psychiatric conditions displayed was no greater than those found in ‘normal’ population
- suggests gender dysphoria is unrelated to trauma or pathological families

✓AO2: Mother-Son Relationships – Zucker et al (1996)
- studied 115 boys with concerns about their gender identity + mothers
- those diagnosed with GID, 64% were diagnosed with separation anxiety compared to only 38% of the boys whose symptoms were subclinical
- points to some kind…