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Capturing Gender Diversity in Twin Research
Will Conabere1,2, Anja Ravine1,2, Louise Bourchier3
1Department of Paediatrics, University of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Summary
Most twin registries lack gender identity data. This study found 0.8% of respondents identified as transgender or gender diverse, suggesting familial factors may influence gender diversity.
Area of Science:
- Genetics
- Psychology
- Sociology
Background:
- Limited systematic data collection on gender identity in twin registries hinders research into familial influences.
- Previous studies on gender identity in twins have faced challenges due to data limitations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess the feasibility and utility of collecting gender identity data within a large twin registry.
- To estimate the prevalence of transgender and gender diverse identities in a twin cohort.
- To explore potential familial contributions to gender diversity using twin data.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of responses to gender identity questions from Twins Research Australia's 2023 survey.
- Inclusion of 4475 adult respondents (mean age 52.2 years).
- Calculation of tetrachoric correlations for gender diversity concordance in monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs.
Main Results:
- 0.8% (36 out of 4475) of respondents identified as transgender or gender diverse.
- Prevalence aligns with international population-based estimates.
- Tetrachoric correlations suggested potential familial influences (0.62 for MZ, 0.00 for DZ pairs), though limited by small sample size.
Conclusions:
- Systematically collecting gender identity data in twin registries is feasible and valuable.
- Findings support the utility of twin registries for studying the etiology of gender diversity.
- Further research with larger sample sizes is warranted to confirm familial contributions.
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