A new questionnaire for social gender dysphoria and stress

Gender Dysphoria as a Measure of Proximal Stress: Development and Psychometric Evaluation of a Novel Measure of Social Gender Dysphoria

NIH-funded research Washington University · NIH-11005621

This project will create a new questionnaire to capture the social distress people experience about their gender, especially for transgender and nonbinary individuals.

Quick facts

Grant typeR21 grant
Study typeNIH-funded research
Funding institutionWashington University NIH-funded
Lab location1 site (Saint Louis, United States)
Project IDNIH-11005621 on NIH RePORTER

What this research studies

If you are transgender or nonbinary, this project wants to build a short, clear survey that reflects the social ways gender causes distress, like being misgendered or facing discrimination. The team will work with community members to draft items, then invite people to complete the questionnaire so researchers can check how well it measures real experiences. They will compare the new questions to existing scales and to mental health and substance-use measures to see how social gender distress relates to health. The goal is a reliable, community-informed tool that can be used in future clinical and research settings.

Who could benefit from this research

Good fit: Ideal participants are transgender, nonbinary, and other gender-diverse adults who have experienced social stress or distress related to their gender and are willing to complete surveys or interviews.

Not a fit: People who are cisgender or who do not experience gender-related social distress are unlikely to receive direct benefit from participating in this measure development work.

Why it matters

Potential benefit: If successful, the measure could help clinicians and researchers recognize and address social sources of gender-related distress, improving support and tracking of mental health outcomes for gender-diverse people.

How similar studies have performed: Related work and the investigators' prior studies suggest social gender distress is measurable, but this specific questionnaire is new and is being developed and validated here.

Where this research is happening

Saint Louis, United States

Researchers

About this research

  1. This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
  2. Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
  3. For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.
Last reviewed 2026-06-13 by the Find a Trial editorial team. Information on this page is for educational purposes and is not medical advice. Always consult qualified healthcare professionals about clinical trial participation.