<unk>  (GD), also known as gender incongruence of childhood, is a formal diagnosis for children who experience significant discontent (gender<unk>  due to a mismatch between their assigned sex and gender identity. The diagnostic label gender identity disorder in children (GIDC) was used by the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) until it was renamed<unk>  in 2013 with the release of the DSM-5. The diagnosis was renamed to remove the stigma associated with the term disorder. Gender<unk>  in prepubertal children is more heavily linked to adult homosexuality than to an adult transgender identity, especially with regard to boys. According to prospective studies, the majority of children diagnosed with gender<unk>  cease to desire to be the other sex by puberty, with most growing up to identify as gay, lesbian, or bisexual, with or without therapeutic intervention. This has been termed desistance. The evidence offered to support a high desistance rate among prepubertal children has been criticized because previous DSM criteria did not require a child to state a transgender identity or a desire for medical or social transition, and so gender-nonconforming children without gender<unk>  were included in the studies. For children whose gender<unk>  persists during puberty and into adolescence, it is very likely permanent. Controversy surrounding the pathologization and treatment of a transgender identity and associated behaviors, particularly in children, has been evident in the literature since the 1980s. Proponents of the GD diagnoses argue that therapeutic intervention helps children be more comfortable in their bodies, have better peer relations and therefore better self-esteem, that research indicates there exist forms of distress associated directly with children's gender variance, and that treatment can prevent adult GD. Opponents have compared therapeutic interventions that aim to alter a child's gender identity to conversion (or reparative) therapy for gay men and lesbians. The World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) states that treatment aimed at trying to change a person's gender identity and gender expression to become more congruent with sex assigned at birth "is no longer considered ethical." Critics also argue that therapeutic interventions that aim to alter a child's gender identity rely on the assumption that an adult transgender identity is undesirable, challenging this assumption along with the lack of clinical data to support outcomes and efficacy. Other therapeutic interventions do not seek to change a child's gender identity, but are instead focused on creating a supportive and safe environment for the child to explore their gender identity and gender expression.
Gender dysphoria in children
Effects of domestic violence on children
Learning problems in childhood cancer
Rapid-onset gender dysphoria controversy
Child bereavement
Impact of health on intelligence
Happy life expectancy
Child psychopathology