Exploration of gender perceptions among adolescents

• Published in: Archivos argentinos de pediatría Vol. 120; no. 4; pp. 240 - 247
• Main Authors: Eymann, Alfredo, Bellomo, María M, Krauss, Mariana, Soto Pérez, Amanda R, Catsicaris, Cristina, Mulli, Valeria
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Spanish
• Published: 01.08.2022
• ISSN: 0325-0075; 1668-3501
• DOI: 10.5546/aap.2022.eng.240

INTRODUCTIONGender expression and sexual identity are not always the same as the sex assigned at birth. Our objective was to explore gender perceptions among adolescents who attended a teaching hospital in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. MATERIAL AND METHODSThis was a cross-sectional study. An anonymous survey was administered to patients aged 13-20 years at the waiting room of the outpatient adolescent clinic between April and December 2019. RESULTSA total of 834adolescents completed the survey; their average age was 16.3 ± 2.3 years. Among them, 3.3% (2.9% females and 4.3% males) perceived their gender identity as different from their sex assigned at birth; 26% perceived their sexual orientation was not heteronormative; almost 10% experienced discrimination due to their sexual orientation; and this was associated with a non-heteronormative sexual orientation (p < 0.0001). Female adolescents kissed same sex persons on the mouth more often than male adolescents: 44.8% versus 19% (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONSIn this population of adolescents, 3.3% perceived their gender identity was different from their sex assigned at birth and 26% had a non-heteronormative sexual orientation.