Parents' Perceptions of Childhood and Adolescent Gender Dysphoria: A Systematic Review

Parents play a central role in supporting children experiencing gender dysphoria and in navigating decisions regarding social and medical transition. Despite this, parental perspectives remain underrepresented within the academic literature. This systematic review synthesized research examining how parents understand and interpret experiences of gender dysphoria during childhood and adolescence. Searches were conducted across multiple databases. Twenty-eight studies met the inclusion criteria. The literature consisted predominantly of qualitative studies and showed variation in recruitment methods and sampling strategies. Several themes emerged. Parents frequently described shock, confusion, grief, and uncertainty, followed by processes of meaning-making and adaptation. Social stigma and concerns regarding children's future were commonly reported. Many studies described trajectories toward acceptance and advocacy, although the literature relied heavily on highly self-selected samples, with supportive mothers overrepresented and dissenting or ambivalent perspectives underrepresented. Most studies were informed by gender-affirmative frameworks, and few examined parental experiences longitudinally or across differing explanatory frameworks. The findings suggest that parental experiences are complex and insufficiently represented within current research. Greater methodological and viewpoint diversity is needed to inform family-inclusive approaches to the care of children and adolescents experiencing gender dysphoria.