Puberty Suppression for Pediatric Gender Dysphoria and the Child’s Right to an Open Future
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 8355309 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Sarah C J Jorgensen (0000-0003-1333-0378, University of Toronto, corresponding author), Nicole Athéa (Assistance Publique – Hôpitaux de Paris), Céline Masson (Université de Picardie Jules Verne) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 53 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | 1941-1956 |
| Publication date | 2024-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Archives of Sexual Behavior (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0004-0002 • E-ISSN: 1573-2800 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10508-024-02850-4 |
| PMID | 38565790 |
| OpenAlex | W4393572541 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 164 |
In this essay, we consider the clinical and ethical implications of puberty blockers for pediatric gender dysphoria through the lens of “the child’s right to an open future,” which refers to rights that children do not have the capacity to exercise as minors, but that must be protected, so they can exercise them in the future as autonomous adults. We contrast the open future principle with the beliefs underpinning the gender affirming care model and discuss implications for consent. We evaluate claims that puberty blockers are reversible, discuss the scientific uncertainty about long-term benefits and harms, summarize international developments, and examine how suicide has been used to frame puberty suppression as a medically necessary, lifesaving treatment. In discussing these issues, we include relevant empirical evidence and raise questions for clinicians and researchers. We conclude that treatment pathways that delay decisions about medical transition until the child has had the chance to grow and mature into an autonomous adulthood would be most consistent with the open future principle
Developmental psychology · Dysphoria · Gender dysphoria · Gender identity · Psychiatry · Ethics and Legal Issues in Pediatric Healthcare · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Sexual Differentiation and Disorders · Social Psychology
Adolescent Brain Development
Puberty Suppression in Adolescents With Gender Identity Disorder
Decision-making in the adolescent brain
Young Adult Psychological Outcome After Puberty Suppression and Gender Reassignment
Standards of Care for the Health of Transgender and Gender Diverse People, Version 8
Ensuring Comprehensive Care and Support for Transgender and Gender-Diverse Children and Adolescents
Cognitive and affective development in adolescence
The Adolescent Brain
The role of puberty in the developing adolescent brain
Transsexualism
Pubertal transitions in health
Endocrine Treatment of Gender-Dysphoric/Gender-Incongruent Persons
The dual systems model
Minority Stress Factors Associated With Depression and Anxiety Among Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Youth
Mental Health of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth Compared With Their Peers
The Foundation of the Child's Right to an Open Future
The Child's Right to an Open Future?
Youth should decide
Not just a tragic compromise
Gender-Affirming Treatment of Gender Dysphoria in Youth
Genetic Dilemmas and the Child's Right to an Open Future
Sampling in developmental science
A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking
Informed Consent in the Medical Care of Transgender and Gender-Nonconforming Patients
Developmental Pathway Choices of Young People Presenting to a Gender Service with Gender Distress
Transgender stigma and health
The myth of persistence
A critical commentary on follow-up studies and “desistance” theories about transgender and gender-nonconforming children
Religious Upbringing, Religious Diversity and the Child’s Right to an Open Future>
Freedom and Fulfillment
Age differences in resistance to peer influence
The Detransition Rate Is Unknown
Puberty Suppression in a Gender-Dysphoric Adolescent
Transition Regret and Detransition
Is Social Gender Transition Associated with Mental Health Status in Children and Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria
Trajectories of Adolescents Treated with Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Analogues for Gender Dysphoria
An Analysis of All Applications for Sex Reassignment Surgery in Sweden, 1960–2010
Individuals Treated for Gender Dysphoria with Medical and/or Surgical Transition Who Subsequently Detransitioned
Adolescents with Gender Dysphoria
The Reported Sex and Surgery Satisfactions of 28 Postoperative Male-to-Female Transsexual Patients
Suicide by Clinic-Referred Transgender Adolescents in the United Kingdom
Factors Associated with Satisfaction or Regret Following Male-to-Female Sex Reassignment Surgery
Perceptions of Sex, Gender, and Puberty Suppression
Freedom and Fulfillment
The Dynamic Development of Gender Variability
Clinical Management of Gender Dysphoria in Children and Adolescents
Detransition-Related Needs and Support
| Unique citing works | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 3 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2025 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |