User:Dclow87/sandbox

Childhood Gender Variance
Children who are gender variant may struggle to conform later in life. They may try to lead a “normal” life by getting involved in heterosexual relationships or marriage to help subdue the their core gender identity. As children get older and are not treated for the “mismatch” from mind and bodily appearance, this leads to discomfort, and negative self-image and eventually may lead to depression, or suicide, or http://www.apa.org/monitor/sep03/children.aspx. If a child is not conforming at a very young age, it is important to provide family support for positive impact to family and the child. Children who don not conform prior to age 11 tend to have an increased risk for depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation as a young adult. Roberts et al. (2013) found in their study that participants ages 23 to 30 where 26% of nonconforming, experience some sort of depressive symptoms versus 18% in conforming. Unfortunately there is no curative treatment for gender non conformity, however behavioral therapy has been reported to be successful, such as recognition and open discussions, or counseling sessions. In fact, treatment for gender identity disorders such as gender variance have been a topic of controversy for three decades. In the works of Hill, Carfagnini and Willoughby (2007), Bryant (2004) “suggests that treatment protocols for these children and adolescents, especially those based on converting the child back to a stereotypically gendered youth, make matters worse, causing them to internalize their distress. In other words, treatment for GID in children and adolescents may have negative consequences. Studies suggest that treatment should focus more on helping children and adolescents feel comfortable in living with GID. There is a feeling of distress that overwhelms a child or adolescent with GID that gets expressed through gender. Hill et al. (2007) state “if these youth are distressed by having a condition deemed by society as unwanted, is this evidence of a disorder? Bartlett and colleagues (2000) note that the problem determining distress is aggravated in GID cases because it usually is not clear whether distress in the child is due to gender variance or secondary effects (e.g., due to ostracization or stigmatization). Hill et al. (2007) suggests “a less controversial approach, respectful of increasing gender freedom in our culture and sympathetic to a child’s struggle with gender, would be more humane. Dclow87 (talk) 19:09, 16 November 2013 (UTC)