Atypical development

• What is gender identity disorder?

  Gender identity disorder occurs when an individual believes that their biological sex is not in accordance with their gender, and so they choose to identify with the another gender. The distress and anxiety that comes from this means that GID is considered a psychological disorder.
• What is gender dysphoria?

  When peoples gender identity doesn't match there biological sex
• What is transgender?


  when they choose to identify with there gender identity instead of there biological sex
• Outline genetic explanations for gender dysphoria

  Genetic explanations suggest that inherited gene variants for example a longer androgen-receptor allele can result in biological males being unresponsive to testosterone and therefore having an absence of male characteristics. This is evidenced by Hare et al in 2009 who found that in a group of 112 male to female transgendered people, those who had gender dysphoria also had an unresponsive allele of the androgen-receptor.
• Outline hormonal explanations for gender dysphoria?

  Hormonal explanations suggest that a hormonal system disorder, stress, medication, or illness during pregnancy may interfere with hormonal levels, exposing female foetuses to an excess of testosterone or male foetuses to a lack of testosterone. This can result in infants with some of the physical features of the opposite sex.
• Outline brain differences as an explanation for gender dysphoria?

  Brain differences explanations suggest the sexually-dimorphic nucleus region in the hypothalamus is 2.5 times larger in males, and zhou et al in 1995 showed that transgendered females have a sexually dimorphic nucleus of a similar size to biological females, and transgendered males of a similar size to biological males. This suggests that the sexually dimorphic nucleus plays a role in determining gender and is based off of preferred sex over biological sex.
• What are the strengths for research into gender dysphoria?

  practical applications to the real world as it has led to the development of successful hormone treatments for gender dysphoria.

  
  

  supporting evidence from Garcia falgueras in 2008 who conducted a post mortem brain analysis on 42 patients and found that the volume and number of neurones found in the anterior hypothalamus of M to F transgenders is more similar to female controls than males. Suggesting gender dysphoria is a result of sexual differentiation in the brain.
• What are the weaknesses of research into gender dysphoria?

  However, it could be argued that the changes in brain structures are due to bidirectional ambiguity, meaning the brain structures could change as a result of the change in lifestyle, after the transition had been made.
• What are the social explanations for gender dysphoria ?

  vicarious reinforcement (imitating models) and identification through social influence of opposite sex since they don’t have a stereotypical male role model (rekers 1995)