n a 2021 study of 237 detransitioners (92% of whom were assigned female at birth), recruited via online detransitioner communities and who no longer identify as transgender,
the most prevalent reasons to detransition were the realization that gender dysphoria was related to other issues (70%), health concerns (for 62%), and that transitioning didn’t help their gender dysphoria (50%).[3] In a 2021 study of 2,242 individuals recruited via community outreach organizations who detransitioned and who continue to identify as transgender or gender diverse, the vast majority said detransition was in part due to external factors, such as pressure from family, sexual assault, and nonaffirming school environments; another highly cited factor was "it was just too hard for me."
[35] Motives for detransitioning commonly include financial barriers to transition, social rejection in transition, depression or suicidality due to transition, and discomfort with sexual characteristics developed during transition. Additional motives include concern for lack of data on long-term effects of hormone replacement therapy, concern for loss of fertility, complications from surgery, and changes in gender identity.
[36] Some people detransition on a temporary basis, in order to accomplish a particular aim, such as having biologically related children, or until barriers to transition have been resolved or removed.
[37] Transgender elders may also detransition out of concern for whether they can receive adequate or respectful care in later life.
[38] A qualitative study comparing child desisters to persisters (those with persisting gender dysphoria) found that while persisters related their dysphoria primarily to a mismatch between their bodies and their identity, desisters' dysphoria was more likely to be, at least retroactively, related to a desire to fulfill the other gender role.
[39] An October 2021 study of 100 detransitioners found that detransitioning was related to them becoming more comfortable identifying as their natal sex (60%), having concerns about potential medical complications from transitioning (49%), coming to the view that their gender dysphoria was caused by something specific such as trauma, abuse, or a mental health condition (38%), experiencing discrimination (23%) and homophobia or difficulty accepting themselves as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (23%).
[40]