Gender identity development in gender variant adolescents with ASC
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Understanding gender identity development in gender variant adolescent natal females with autistic spectrum conditions (ASC)
IRAS ID
220314
Contact name
William Mandy
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
Z6364106/2017/09/11, Data Protection
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 1 days
Research summary
The study focuses on understanding gender identity development in gender dysphoric adolescent natal females (aged 15-18), with autism spectrum conditions (ASC).
Gender dysphoria is where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there's a mismatch between their biological sex and gender identity. ASC is a developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and experiences the world around them.
Research shows high prevalence of gender dysphoria among natal females with ASC, with increasing numbers of natal females are being referred to gender identity development (GIDS) services worldwide.
A number of studies advance tentative (biological, social or psychological) hypotheses to explain the association between ASC and GD, but these theories have rarely been tested. Moreover, limited attempts have been made to generate a broader, systematic theoretical understanding of gender identity development in children and adolescents with ASC using in-depth interviewing.
This will be a qualitative study using constructivist grounded theory method to analyze information collected in interviews. A significant advantage of qualitative approaches is that they enable complex aspects of experience to be studied and allow the researcher to address research questions that do not easily lend themselves to quantification. A further aim is to build a better picture of how GIDS teams can support assigned female young people with a diagnosis of autism.
Participants will be recruited from the Tavistock and Portman Trust’s GIDS.
The primary research questions are:
• What are the experiences of gender identity development of adolescent natal females with ASC, who experience distress or difficulty because of the incongruence between their experienced/expressed gender and their assigned gender?
• How have they come to understand or make sense of their gender identity development over time (in particular in relation to their biological sex; gender role; gender identity; gender expression; and sexuality/attraction)?
REC name
London - Harrow Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
17/LO/1957
Date of REC Opinion
12 Jul 2018
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion