Get the Facts · Desistance

Desistance

Desistance is when the distress about being male or female goes away.

Older studies — before pediatric medical transition existed — show that most children did not stay dysphoric after puberty.

The best cure for gender dysphoria was puberty! Now, doctors block the cure.

Facts hub

Percentage of children whose gender dysphoria desisted

Singh, Bradley & Zucker 2021
122 of 139 (87.8%)
87.8%
Drummond, Bradley, Peterson-Badali & Zucker 2008
22 of 25 (88%)
88%
Wallien & Cohen-Kettenis 2008
33 of 54 followed (61%)
61%
Steensma, McGuire, Kreukels, Beekman & Cohen-Kettenis 2013
80 of 127 (63%)
63%
Steensma 2013 — children who were not socially transitioned
74%
74%
Green 1985 / 1987 (“sissy boy” follow-up)
43 of 44 (98%)
98%
Zucker & Bradley 1995
80%
80%
Davenport 1986
6 of 7 with a known outcome
86%
Lebovitz 1972
13 of 16 not transsexual
81%
Money & Russo 1979 / 1981
5 of 5 — the wish to be a girl ended
100%

Table — gender dysphoria desistance %, and adult sexual orientation

Table of older clinic follow-ups: gender dysphoria desistance percentage, adult sexual orientation, and primary paper link
Study	Finding	Adult sexual orientation	Source
Singh, Bradley & Zucker 2021 139 boys at the Toronto clinic. First seen around age 7. Followed up around age 21. 88 had the full childhood diagnosis of distress about being a boy; 51 were below that full diagnosis.	122 of 139 (87.8%) later felt at ease as boys. 17 (12.2%) still felt they were not boys. Largest published boys follow-up.	Of 129 with fantasy data: 82 (64%) gay or bisexual, 43 (33%) straight, 4 (3%) none. Of 108 with behavior data: 51 (47%) gay or bisexual.	Frontiers (open access) →
Drummond, Bradley, Peterson-Badali & Zucker 2008 25 girls at the same Toronto clinic. First seen around age 9. Followed up around age 23. 15 had the full childhood diagnosis; 10 were below that full diagnosis.	22 of 25 (88%) later felt at ease as girls. 3 (12%) still felt they were not girls.	8 (32%) gay or bisexual in fantasy; 6 (24%) in behavior. The rest were straight or reported no sexual feelings on those measures.	PubMed — Dev Psychol →
Wallien & Cohen-Kettenis 2008 77 Dutch clinic children (59 boys, 18 girls; first seen around age 8). 54 were followed around age 19. 23 could not be reached.	Of the 54 they followed, 33 (61%) later felt at ease in their sex. 21 still had the distress. Of the original 77, 23 could not be reached.	Almost all who still had the distress were gay or bisexual. Among those who grew out of it, all of the girls and half of the boys were straight; the other half of those boys were gay or bisexual. The authors: the most common adult outcome is gay or bisexual.	PubMed — JAACAP →
Steensma, McGuire, Kreukels, Beekman & Cohen-Kettenis 2013 127 Dutch adolescents (79 boys, 48 girls) first seen for this distress as children (under 12), then followed in the teen years.	80 of 127 (63%) later felt at ease in their sex; 47 (37%) still had the distress. Boys: 56 of 79 (71%). Girls: 24 of 48 (50%). Stronger childhood distress, older age at first visit, and living as the other sex predicted staying distressed. Childhood-onset clinic children — not today’s mostly teenage girl referrals.	Singh (2021) lists Steensma’s boy attraction figures (52 boys): 65% gay, 15% bisexual, 19% straight.	PubMed — JAACAP →
Steensma 2013 — children who were not socially transitioned Same Dutch follow-up as Steensma 2013, looking only at kids who had not lived as the opposite sex yet. Desistance was higher in this group.	74% desisted (96% of boys, 54% of girls).	Not listed separately for this group.	PubMed — JAACAP →
Green 1985 / 1987 (“sissy boy” follow-up) 66 feminine boys sent to a clinic; 44 talked with again as teens or young adults (around age 19). Compared with typical boys. An older “feminine boy” group — not the same as later clinic samples with a full childhood diagnosis.	43 of 44 (98%) no longer had distress about being a boy. One young man was considering sex-change surgery. Green (1987) is the book; the 1985 journal paper is the primary.	1985 paper: 30 of 44 (68%) were bisexual or gay; none of 34 comparison boys were. 1987 book: 75% bisexual or gay in fantasy (33 of 44).	AJP 1985 (DOI) →
Zucker & Bradley 1995 Mixed-sex childhood clinic sample, n=45. Mean age at intake about 8.3. Followed up at mean age about 16.7. From Gender Identity Disorder and Psychosexual Problems in Children and Adolescents (Guilford, 1995), as summarized on the Dirks desistence master chart.	80% desisted. Only 6 of 9 persisters desired SRS.	24% gay/bi by fantasy	Guilford 1995 (Google Books) →
Zuger 1984 55 boys with early feminine behavior, followed for as long as 27 years. Adult sexual orientation could be rated for 38.	This paper reports adult sexual orientation, not a single count of how many still felt they were not boys. A related Zuger follow-up (1978, 16 boys) found 1 transsexual and 1 transvestite outcome.	35 of 55 (64%) gay or related outcomes; 3 (5%) straight; 10 uncertain; 7 could not be reached.	PubMed — J Nerv Ment Dis →
Davenport 1986 10 feminine boys, followed 8 to 10 years later. 8 had met the full childhood diagnosis when first seen.	1 of 10 was known to be transsexual at follow-up. Outcome was uncertain in 3. Of the 7 with a known outcome, 6 were not transsexual.	4 straight, 2 gay, 1 transsexual, 3 uncertain.	PubMed — Arch Sex Behav →
Lebovitz 1972 16 boys with feminine behavior. An older sample — not a modern gender-clinic group.	3 of 16 were transsexual at follow-up; 1 transvestite. 13 of 16 were not transsexual.	Among 6 the author called “markedly deviant” in gender identity: 3 transsexual, 1 transvestite, 2 gay. The paper does not give a full orientation table for all 16.	AJP 1972 (DOI) →
Money & Russo 1979 / 1981 Johns Hopkins boys who had wanted to be girls and who cross-dressed and played as girls. The 1981 report has inner-life data on 5 followed to ages 23–29.	In the 1981 report, the childhood wish to be a girl had ended for all 5.	All 5 called themselves gay, exclusively or mostly. The authors: boyhood femininity does not reliably predict adult transsexualism.	J Pediatr Psychol 1979 (DOI) →

Official sources

Publisher and PubMed pages for the papers and book in the table. Singh 2012 is the same Toronto boys sample later published as Singh, Bradley & Zucker 2021. The Steensma no-social-transition cut is the same 2013 paper, not a second study.

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