30/06/2026
Ottawa, Ontario — Tuesday June 30, 2026
Understanding how gender identity evolves over time is an important part of providing evidence-informed care for transgender and non-binary youth. Yet relatively few large studies have followed young people engaged with specialized gender care over time to explore whether it is common for gender identity to change, or if gender-affirming treatments are discontinued.
A large Canadian multi-centre study led by Margaret Lawson helps provide insight through one of the largest review studies of its kind to date. Looking at the records of 445 adolescents across four gender clinics in Canada between 2012 and 2017, researchers explored how often gender identity changed over this time.
“Questions about gender identity and treatment pathways deserve careful, long-term research. What makes this study unique is that we were able to follow a large group of adolescents across four specialized gender clinics across Canada, without losing contact with a single young person. All received comprehensive care and support from multidisciplinary teams, which helped us build a clearer picture of how gender identity and treatment decisions evolved over this time.” – Margaret Lawson
What they found was that gender identity remained highly stable: nearly 95 per cent of adolescents continued to identify with the gender identity they reported at their first clinic visit. Overall, 97 per cent continued to identify as transgender or non-binary throughout the study period, while just three per cent reidentified with a gender aligned with their sex assigned at birth. Among the nearly 80 per cent of adolescents who started gender-affirming hormones, only four adolescents (one per cent) later discontinued their hormones.
Looking ahead, researchers hope to better understand how gender identity and treatment decisions evolve into adulthood, so care providers can continue to support youth and families with personalized, informed care.