Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Department of Medical Psychology, Amsterdam UMC, location VUmc, The Netherlands.
Clin Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2021 Jul;26(3):839-854. doi: 10.1177/13591045211000797. Epub 2021 Mar 24.
In the DSM-5 diagnosis of childhood Gender Dysphoria, two of the eight criteria focus on body satisfaction of the child. Nevertheless, this subject is understudied. This study aims to describe the body image of children with gender incongruence (GI) in relation to birth assigned sex and the intensity of GI.
Self-report and parent-report measures on body satisfaction and gender incongruence were obtained from 207 children (<12 years) who were referred to the Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria at the Amsterdam University Medical Centers, location VUmc, between 2010 and 2016. First, a general description of body satisfaction in children who took part in this study is provided. Secondly, body image of birth assigned boys and girls are compared using chi-square tests and univariate ANCOVA's. Thirdly, the association between intensity of GI and body image is examined using multiple linear regression analyses.
Of the 207 children with GI, 50% reported dissatisfaction with their gender-specific characteristics. Overall, children were less dissatisfied with their neutral body characteristics. Birth assigned girls report greater dissatisfaction with their body characteristics than birth assigned boys. Intensity of GI was significantly related to satisfaction with gender specific body characteristics where a greater intensity of GI relates to more body dissatisfaction.
Mental health practitioners should be aware of the diversity in body dissatisfaction in this group. Furthermore, evaluation of body image should be an important topic in the counseling of these children. Future research should focus on the relation of body dissatisfaction and the development of gender incongruent feelings in children with GI.
在 DSM-5 儿童性别焦虑症的诊断中，八个标准中有两个侧重于儿童的身体满意度。然而，这个问题的研究还不够充分。本研究旨在描述性别不一致（GI）儿童的身体意象与出生时的性别和 GI 的强度的关系。
本研究从 2010 年至 2016 年期间，向阿姆斯特丹大学医学中心性别认同障碍中心（位于 VUmc）转介的 207 名（<12 岁）儿童获得了关于身体满意度和性别不一致的自我报告和父母报告的测量结果。首先，提供了参加本研究的儿童的身体满意度的一般描述。其次，使用卡方检验和单变量 ANCOVA 比较了出生时为男孩和女孩的身体图像。第三，使用多元线性回归分析检查了 GI 强度与身体形象之间的关系。
在 207 名患有 GI 的儿童中，有 50%的儿童对其性别特定特征表示不满。总的来说，儿童对其中性身体特征的不满程度较低。出生时为女孩的儿童比出生时为男孩的儿童对身体特征的不满程度更大。GI 的强度与对性别特定身体特征的满意度显著相关，其中 GI 的强度越大，身体不满的程度越大。
心理健康从业者应该意识到该群体中身体不满的多样性。此外，对身体形象的评估应该是对这些儿童进行咨询的一个重要话题。未来的研究应集中在身体不满与患有 GI 的儿童性别不一致感受的发展之间的关系上。
