IJ TRANSGENDER - XVII HBGIDA - Abstract - The Controversial Diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder in Children

Editors:
Friedemann Pfäfflin,
Ulm University, Germany

Walter O. Bockting,
University of Minnesota, USA

Eli Coleman,
University of Minnesota, USA

Richard Ekins,
University of Ulster at Coleraine, UK

Dave King,
University of Liverpool, UK

Managing Editor:
Noelle N Gray,
University of Minnesota, USA

Editorial Assistant:
Erin Pellett,
University of Minnesota, USA

Editorial Board

Authors

Contents
Historic Paper s

Info
Authors´Guidelines

Published by

ISSN 1434-4599

XVII Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
31 October - 4 November 2001, Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.

The Controversial Diagnosis of Gender Identity Disorder in Children

GREEN, RICHARD U.K.
richard.green@ic.ac.uk

Diagnosing gender identity (GID) in children is controversial. How did it enter the DSM? As with some other sexuality diagnoses in DSM, it is arguable whether GID fits the criteria of mental disorder. If it does fit, what is being diagnosed? What is to be treated? If it does not fit, is it harmful to children to carry this diagnosis? Is it harmful for them to be treated? From what is known of the natural history of GID in children, of what relevance is it that most children with GID mature into adults with a homosexual orientation, not with GID?