Childhood gender-typed behaviour, sexual orientation, childhood abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder: A prospective birth-cohort study

TY - JOUR

T1 - Childhood gender-typed behaviour, sexual orientation, childhood abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder: A prospective birth-cohort study

AU - Warren, Anna-Sophia

AU - Goldsmith, Kimberley

AU - Rimes, Katharine

N1 - Funding Information: The authors are extremely grateful to all the families who took part in this study, the midwives for their help in recruiting them, and the whole ALSPAC team, which includes interviewers, computer and laboratory technicians, clerical workers, research scientists, volunteers, managers, receptionists and nurses. The UK Medical Research Council and the Wellcome Trust (Grant ref: 102215/2/13/2) and the University of Bristol provide core support for ALSPAC. This publication is the work of the authors and they will serve as guarantors for the contents of this paper. A comprehensive list of grants funding is available on the ALSPAC website ( http://www.bristol.ac.uk/alspac/external/documents/grant-acknowledgements.pdf ); this research was specifically funded by the MRC (Grant refs: MR/M006727/1; G0701594). AW is supported by the ESRC LISS DTP. This paper represents independent research part funded (KG) by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Biomedical Research Centre for Mental Health at the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London. The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR or the Department of Health and Social Care. The authors have declared that they have no competing or potential conflicts of interest. Publisher Copyright: © 2022 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2022/9/24

Y1 - 2022/9/24

N2 - ALSPAC birth-cohort data were analysed to assess prospective associations between childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), childhood/adolescent abuse, and adulthood PTSD symptoms. Structural equation models assessed whether abuse mediated the relationship between CGN and PTSD. Sex and sexual orientation differences were investigated. For females, higher parent-rated CGN at 30, 42 and 57-months was associated with mother-reported abuse, self-reported physical/psychological abuse, and/or self-reported sexual abuse. Higher CGN at 30-months was associated with more PTSD symptoms at 23 years. Self-rated CGN in males and females, and parent-rated CGN in males, were not associated with abuse or PTSD. Sexual minority identification was associated with higher CGN and abuse and for females, PTSD symptoms. In females, the relationship between greater CGN at 30-months and PTSD symptoms was separately mediated by each abuse variable. Self-reported sexual abuse was no longer a significant mediator after sexual orientation adjustment. Self-reported physical/psychological abuse significantly mediated the association alone when it was entered together with mother-reported abuse, even after sexual orientation adjustment. In conclusion, childhood gender nonconformity in females may increase the risk for adult PTSD symptoms, possibly mediated by childhood abuse. In females, mediation of the relationship between CGN and PTSD by sexual abuse may be particularly relevant for sexual minority individuals.

AB - ALSPAC birth-cohort data were analysed to assess prospective associations between childhood gender nonconformity (CGN), childhood/adolescent abuse, and adulthood PTSD symptoms. Structural equation models assessed whether abuse mediated the relationship between CGN and PTSD. Sex and sexual orientation differences were investigated. For females, higher parent-rated CGN at 30, 42 and 57-months was associated with mother-reported abuse, self-reported physical/psychological abuse, and/or self-reported sexual abuse. Higher CGN at 30-months was associated with more PTSD symptoms at 23 years. Self-rated CGN in males and females, and parent-rated CGN in males, were not associated with abuse or PTSD. Sexual minority identification was associated with higher CGN and abuse and for females, PTSD symptoms. In females, the relationship between greater CGN at 30-months and PTSD symptoms was separately mediated by each abuse variable. Self-reported sexual abuse was no longer a significant mediator after sexual orientation adjustment. Self-reported physical/psychological abuse significantly mediated the association alone when it was entered together with mother-reported abuse, even after sexual orientation adjustment. In conclusion, childhood gender nonconformity in females may increase the risk for adult PTSD symptoms, possibly mediated by childhood abuse. In females, mediation of the relationship between CGN and PTSD by sexual abuse may be particularly relevant for sexual minority individuals.

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85130037683&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1080/09540261.2022.2064211

DO - 10.1080/09540261.2022.2064211

M3 - Article

SN - 0954-0261

VL - 34

SP - 360

EP - 375

JO - International Review of Psychiatry

JF - International Review of Psychiatry

IS - 3-4

ER -