Gender Identity Congruence Between Adolescents’ and Parents Utilizing the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study

Abstract

Adolescents are in a unique developmental period in which they are exploring their identities (Branje, 2022), including gender identity. Gender identity is an internal feeling that may not be expressed outwardly (e.g., through clothing or activities). Thus, a parent or guardian may not know if their adolescent is in the process of gender identity exploration, potentially resulting in non-congruent views of adolescents’ gender identity. Previous research has indicated an association between gender non-conformity and higher reports of family conflict (Spivey et al., 2018; Klein et al., 2023; Loso et al., 2023; Schimmel-Bristow et al., 2025). Additional research has indicated the association between gender non-conformity and family conflict is indirectly associated with negative outcomes for children and adolescents, such as depression, anxiety and suicidal behaviors (Kaltiala et al., 2023; Klein et al., 2023). The current research will expand on previous findings and utilize both the adolescent and parent perspective on gender non-conformity and family conflict. Utilizing the ABCD dataset, the current study aims to explore (1) the degree of congruence between adolescents and their parents in reporting adolescent gender identity and (2) the association between parent-adolescent congruence in gender identity and family conflict in the home.