In one study, 40% of those classified as "desisters" were subthreshold even for the DSM-IV criteria. The four studies all offered evidence that statement of transgender identity in childhood predicted transgender identity in adolescence andadulthood and the intensity of gender dysphoria in childhood likewise predicted its intensity later in life. The studies published from the 1960-1980's never used the term desistance, instead focusing on "gender-deviant behavior" - childhood femininity in people assigned male at birth - and how this more often predicts homosexuality rather than "transsexualism" in adulthood.
A study found that 40% of those labeled as 'desisters' didn't meet the DSM-IV criteria. Four studies confirmed that childhood expression of transgender identity predicted adolescent and adult identities, and childhood gender dysphoria intensity predicted later life intensity. Earlier research from the 1960s to 1980s used alternative terms like 'gender-deviant behavior' to describe childhood femininity in males assigned male at birth, which was more often linked to homosexuality than adulthood transsexuality.