4 Gender Dysphoria related to environment rather than genetics
Those who promote gender mutilation of minors claim that some children are “born in the wrong body”, that the condition is genetic and thus there is a need to transition the child into the correct gender. This claim is not supported by scientific research. Instead, it is well accepted that a child’s emotional and psychological development is impacted by positive and negative experiences from infancy forward. Family and peer relationships, one’s school and neighborhood, the experience of any form of abuse, media exposure, chronic illness, war, and natural disasters are all examples of environmental factors that impact an individual’s emotional, social, and psychological development.
The literature regarding the development of childhood GD suggests that social reinforcement, parental psychopathology, family dynamics, and social contagion, facilitated by mainstream and social media, all contribute to the development and/or persistence of GD. Sometimes parental psychopathology is at the root of the social reinforcement. For example, among mothers of boys with GD who had desired daughters, a small subgroup experienced what has been termed “pathologic gender mourning.” Within this subgroup the mother’s desire for a daughter was acted out by the mother actively cross-dressing her son as a girl. These mothers typically suffered from severe depression that was relieved when their sons dressed and acted in a feminine manner.
Coates and Person (1985), provided data on a high rate of separation anxiety disorder in boys with GD. These researchers argued that the high rate of separation anxiety could be accounted for by a great deal of familial psychopathology, which rendered the mothers of these boys unpredictably available. The emergence of separation anxiety preceded the first appearance of feminine behavior, which was understood to serve a representational coping function of recapturing an emotionally unavailable mother. A.S. Birkenfeld-Adams (1999)has shown a rate of insecure attachment to the mother, https://focus.psychiatryonline.org/doi/epdf/10.1176/foc.3.4.598
Green (1987) assessed the amount of shared time between parents of feminine boys and control subjects during the first 5 years of life. The fathers of feminine boys reported spending less time with their sons from the second to the fifth year than did the fathers of control subjects. The mothers of feminine boys also reported spending less time with their sons than did the mothers of control subjects.
For girls with GD, the mother–daughter relationship is often filled with unresolved conflict, leading to the daughter not identifying with the mother. In some instances, femininity is devalued and masculinity is overvalued, which seem to be encouraged by the parents. Furthermore, there have been cases in which girls are afraid of their fathers who may exhibit volatile anger - including abuse toward the mother. A girl may perceive being female as unsafe, and psychologically defend against this by feeling that she is really a boy; subconsciously believing that if she were a boy she would be safe from her father.
It has also been found that among children with GD, the rate of maternal psychopathology, particularly depression and bipolar disorder is “high by any standard.” Additionally, a majority of the fathers of GD boys are easily threatened, exhibit difficulty with affect regulation, and possess an inner sense of inadequacy. These fathers typically deal with their conflicts by overwork or otherwise distance themselves from their families. Most often, the parents fail to support one another, and have difficulty resolving marital conflicts. This produces an intensified air of conflict and hostility. In this situation, the boy becomes increasingly unsure about his own self-value because of the mother’s withdrawal or anger and the father’s failure to intercede. The boy’s anxiety and insecurity intensify, as does his anger, which may all result in his inability to identify with his biological sex.
The core symptoms of gender dysphoria in childhood rarely exist in isolation. Severe psychopathology preceding the onset of GD is common. In a study of 47 adolescents seeking GD treatment, 75% (35/47) had been or were currently undergoing child and adolescent psychiatric treatment for reasons other than gender dysphoria when they sought referral. 64% (30/47) were having or had had treatment for depression, 55% (26/47) for anxiety disorders, 53% (25/47) for suicidal and self-harming behaviors. 68% (32/47) had their first contact with psychiatric services due to other reasons than gender identity issues. https://capmh.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13034-015-0042-y