Dissociation among trans and non-binary folx

There’s reason to believe that transgender or non-binary folks are at increased risk of developing dissociative symptoms compared to their cisgender counterparts.

Reasons to expect dissociation in gender diverse individuals:

• Dysphoria at the lack of concordance between the body and identity may predispose them to using dissociation as a coping tool
• Possible attachment trauma due to parenting that invalidates their identity
• High rates of harassment, discrimination, and sexual violence which are associated with trauma responses and dissociative coping

There is almost no published research yet in this area, except one 2015 study of individuals at a Gender Identity clinic found lifetime prevalence of dissociative disorders was high (29.6%).

This study also found that treatment with HRT/surgery were associated with lower levels of dissociative symptoms.

Citation: Colizzi, M., Costa, R., &Todarello, O. (2015). Dissociative symptoms in individuals with gender dysphoria: is the elevated prevalence real?. Psychiatry research, 226(1), 173–180.