Which of the following statements is true when considering a diagnosis of gender dysphoria?

• A. Gender dysphoria is diagnosed whenever an individual expresses any dissatisfaction with their assigned gender, regardless of the duration or intensity of their feelings.
• B. The diagnosis of gender dysphoria requires that the individual experiences significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
• C. Gender dysphoria can be diagnosed solely based on a person's desire to dress in clothing typically associated with another gender, without any distress or impairment.
• D. A diagnosis of gender dysphoria is only applicable to adults and cannot be made in children or adolescents.

Answer: (B)

Verified step by step guidance

1. Step 1: Understand the definition of gender dysphoria. Gender dysphoria refers to the psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one's experienced or expressed gender and the gender assigned at birth.
2. Step 2: Recognize that a diagnosis in psychology, including gender dysphoria, requires more than just feelings or desires; it must involve clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning such as social, occupational, or other key life domains.
3. Step 3: Evaluate the statements by checking if they mention the necessity of distress or impairment. Statements that diagnose gender dysphoria based solely on dissatisfaction or behaviors without distress are inconsistent with diagnostic criteria.
4. Step 4: Note that gender dysphoria can be diagnosed in children, adolescents, and adults, so any statement limiting diagnosis to adults only is incorrect.
5. Step 5: Conclude that the true statement is the one emphasizing that the diagnosis requires significant distress or impairment, aligning with the clinical criteria used in diagnostic manuals like the DSM-5.