Queering Puberty Research Among LGBTQIA+ Populations: A Scoping Review

LGBTQIA+ individuals face significant health disparities compared to their cisgender, heterosexual, and endosex peers, largely due to the cumulative effects of minority stress. Despite puberty being a formative and often stressful developmental period, LGBTQIA+ populations remain underrepresented in puberty research. This scoping review examined the extent and nature of existing research on puberty among LGBTQIA+ populations, focusing on representation across identities, research methodologies, measures of pubertal development, and associations with health outcomes.

A systematic search across six databases identified 176 relevant studies (quantitative and qualitative) examining pubertal development among LGBTQIA+ individuals or groups. No restrictions were placed on participant location or age. Stakeholder engagement and public involvement via focus groups informed the interpretive lens of the review.

Most studies focused on individuals with diverse gender identities. Case studies and case series were the most common design, followed by cross-sectional studies. Clinical samples were more prevalent than community-based ones. Common measures of puberty included Tanner staging, hormone concentrations, age at menarche, and bone age. Studies more often examined differences in pubertal timing between LGBTQIA+ and cisgender/heterosexual youth, rather than examined psychosocial outcomes. Only 21% of studies specifically focused on puberty among LGBTQIA+ populations.

Participant-informed, inclusive approaches-grounded in frameworks that attend to identity, stigma, and minority stress-are needed to better understand the developmental and health implications of puberty for LGBTQIA+ youth.