New Data on Detransitioners Released, May Suggest Higher Rates Than Thought

A new study by the Institute for Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Research (ICGDR) has been released, and is raising some questions about existing data on detransitioners – individuals who believed they were transgender but then came to regret their transition.

The study, titled "Individuals Treated for Gender Dysphoria with Medical and/or Surgical Transition Who Subsequently Detransitioned" surveyed 100 detransitioned people on their experiences, and is raising some alarm bells on whether the limited existing data on individuals who ceased or attempted to reverse their transition could be inaccurate.

In what is thought to be the first study to ask whether detransitioners informed their original clinicians of their regret, only 24% of those surveyed said they had done so.

Speaking to MDEdge, Dr. Lisa Littman, president of the ICGDR, stated that this "strongly suggests that records on detransition may understate the real numbers."

Additional findings from the study included that 55% of detransitioners felt they had received inadequate clinical assessment prior to starting their transition.

Shockingly, 37.4% of detransitioners stated they felt "pressure" to transition, with "clinicians, partners, friends, and society" being named as sources that applied pressure.

In the study, one detransitioner is quoted as saying "I was dating a trans woman and she framed our relationship in a way that was contingent on my being trans," with another stating "My gender therapist acted like it [transition] was a panacea for everything."

On reasons for detransitioning, the study found that 38% of those surveyed came to understand their gender dysphoria was a result of a specific incident, such as trauma, abuse, or a mental health condition. An additional 23% stated that homophobia, or difficulty accepting themselves as homo- or bisexual, had prompted transition and subsequent detransition.

The study featured the input of 69 detransitioned females, and 31 detransitioned males.

Last year, the ordeals of detransitioned individuals began to receive more public attention after Keira Bell, a female from the United Kingdom who previously identified as a transgender man, began vocal legal action against the gender identity clinic which initiated her medical transition as a teenager.

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