Between a boy and a girl: Measuring gender identity on a continuum

Selin Gülgöz; Deja L. Edwards; Kristina R. Olson

doi:10.1111/sode.12587

Between a boy and a girl: Measuring gender identity on a continuum

Selin Gülgöz, Deja L. Edwards, Kristina R. Olson

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Studies of gender development typically use binary, discrete measures of identity. However, growing literature indicates that some children might not identify with a binary gender. We tested a continuous measure of felt gender identity with gender-non-conforming children, socially transitioned transgender children, cisgender siblings, and unrelated cisgender children. In two studies, we found that transgender and cisgender children did not differ in their degree of identifying as their current gender, that they showed more binary identities compared with gender- non-conforming children, and that the continuum was a valid predictor of other measures of gender development. We also found that children's use of the continuous measure was stable over time. Our results demonstrate the test–retest reliability and validity of a new single-item continuous measure of gender.

Original language	American English
Pages (from-to)	916-929
Number of pages	14
Journal	Social Development
Volume	31
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12587
State	Published - Aug 2022
Externally published	Yes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Developmental and Educational Psychology
Sociology and Political Science
Social Sciences (miscellaneous)

Keywords

gender development
gender diversity
gender identity
transgender

Access to Document

10.1111/sode.12587

Cite this

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Between a boy and a girl: Measuring gender identity on a continuum

Abstract

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

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