Atypical Gender Development

Question 1

What is the other name of gender identity disorder?

Answer 1

Gender dysphoria

Question 2

What is the ratio of people affected by gender dysphoria?

Answer 2

1 and 11000

Question 3

What is DSM-5 diagnosis of gender dysphoria?

Answer 3

• Experience will affect ability to function in everyday life
• No biological disorder should occur at the same time
• Feel a strong sense of discomfort with their own biological sex
• Must experience ongoing identification with the opposite sex

Question 4

Biological explanation for gender dysphoria:

Answer 4

This is the perception that dysphoria is physiologically determined

Question 5

Define Gender Dysphoria:

Answer 5

Strong, persistent feelings of identification with opposite gender and discomfort with assigned gender

Question 6

What does the Brain sex theory suggest?

Answer 6

-Dysphoria is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with a person’s biological sex.

Question 7

Zhou (1995):

Answer 7

studied the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) which is assumed to be fully developed at age 5 and around 40% larger in males than females

Question 8

Have postmortem studies provided any support for biological explanation of dysphoria?

Answer 8

Yes

Question 9

How have post postmortems provided support for biological explanation?

Answer 9

Six male-to-female transgender individuals who had received feminising hormones, the BSTc was found to be a similar size to as heterosexual women

Question 10

Kruijiver et al (2000):

Answer 10

Focused on number of neurons in the BSTc rather than the volume.

Question 11

Findings of Kruijiver et al (2000):

Answer 11

six transgender individuals showed a similar number of neurons in the BSTc to those found in heterosexual women

Question 12

Contradicatory evidence for BSTc

Answer 12

• The BSTc is fully formed at age 5 so hormone treatment should not have an effect on the BSTc
• But research has found that transgender hormone therapy did affect the size of the BSTc
• Chung (2002) claims that pre-natal hormonal influences (that affect the size of the BSTc) are not triggered until adulthood

Question 13

Is there a genetic basis for gender dysphoria?

Answer 13

Yes

Question 14

Method of Heylens et al (2012):

Answer 14

-23 MZ twins with 21 DZ twins where one of each pair was diagnosed with GID

Question 15

Findings of Heylens et al (2012):

Answer 15

9 (39%) of the MZ twins was concordant for GID compared to none of the DZs which would indicate a role for genetic factors in the development of GID

Question 16

Evaluation of twin studies:

Answer 16

• Findings are inconclusive
• Very difficult to separate the influence of nature and nurture
• Twins (especially MZ twins) may influence each other, and the environmental conditions they are exposed to are likely to be very similar.
• extremely small, limiting sample

Question 17

Why are biological explanations inconclusive?

Answer 17

-Reduce complex conditions and behaviours to a simpler genetic, neuroanatomical and/or hormonal level

Question 18

Social-psychological explanation:

Answer 18

-GID is a condition learned via socialisation processes

Question 19

Psychoanalytic theory:

Answer 19

• GID in males is caused by the child experiencing extreme separation anxiety before gender identity established.
• The child fears separation and so replaces the symbolic mum by ‘being’ mum.
• The consequence of this is that the child, in a very real sense, becomes the mother so adopts a female gender identity.

Question 20

Stoller (1973)

Answer 20

Interviews with GID males, they were seen to display overly close mother-son relationships that would lead to greater female identification and confused gender identity in the long-term

Question 21

What explanation does Stoller (1973)?

Answer 21

Psychoanalytic theory

Question 22

Who proposed a cognitive theory for gender dysphoria?

Answer 22

Liben and Bigler (2002)

Question 23

What was Liben and Bigler (2002) an extension of?

Answer 23

Gender schema theory

Question 24

What is the dual pathway theory (by Liben and Bigler)

?

Answer 24

1. gender schema which direct gender-appropriate attitudes and behaviour as part of ‘normal’ development
2. gender schemas are affected personally by the activities children engage in. If an individual’s personal interests become more dominant it can influence gender schemas developing.

Question 25

Issues with psychanalytic theory:

Answer 25

• Not provide an adequate account of GID in females
• cannot be scientifically observed or tested (unfalsifiable)
• An unconscious level which is very difficult to test

Question 26

Issues with cognitive theory:

Answer 26

• Descriptive rather than explanatory

- Other explanations provided better explanations