According to Dr. André Van Mol—the co-chair of the American College of Pediatricians’ Committee on Adolescent Sexuality and a contributor to Public Discourse on transgender issues—in the overwhelming majority of cases, the desire to switch one’s gender identity is closely connected to adverse experiences in childhood. More broadly, studies have reported a high frequency of childhood emotional and physical neglect and abuse among transgender-identifying individuals.
In my case, my longing to identify as female was due to early childhood trauma that fractured my male identity. My grandmother made a purple chiffon evening dress for me and affirmed me as a girl from ages four through six, and my uncle sexually abused me before I was ten. In my desperation to cope with the abuse, my child’s mind invented the belief I should have been a girl.
Thousands of former transgender-identifying individuals have contacted me over the last twelve years, and their stories always include ACEs that were never treated. Hurtful events of childhood—a loss or trauma such as divorce, an alcoholic parent, or sexual abuse—started the desire to become someone else.
I hear from young adults who transitioned and want their lives back. They share with me that they had mental illness, or they were addicted to pornography or anime games, or they were bullied, or perhaps they didn’t feel valued in the family.
For example, a major 2018 study of mental health in transgender-identifying youth found overwhelming evidence that mental illness is present before the onset of transgender belief. This study compared over 1,300 trans-believing youth with age-matched peers using clinical data gathered from three large pediatric practices in California and Georgia. The findings were startling and alarming. Psychological disorders such as anxiety, depression, and attention deficit disorders were several times higher than the peer group, suicidal ideation was up to 54 times higher, and self-harm was up to 144 times higher.
No matter how well intended, recommending genital surgery or breast removal to someone with serious mental disorders is torture only a mad scientist would think appropriate.
Furthermore, mental illness doesn’t magically dissipate but often persists after surgery. In a nationwide long-term follow-up study of adult transgender cases in Sweden, psychiatric morbidity, suicide attempts, and suicide deaths were highly elevated after sex reassignment.
Source: Gender Dysphoria and Adverse Childhood Experiences – Public Discourse