Retrospective Study
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2023. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Psychiatry. Jan 19, 2024; 14(1): 36-43
Published online Jan 19, 2024. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v14.i1.36
Survey and clinical considerations of gender identity in lower primary school children
Ya-Lin Zhang, Hong-Mei Zhang, Jing-Xia Xu, Qi-Ying Zhou, He Wang, Xiao-Cheng Pan
Ya-Lin Zhang, Department of Pediatrics, Hangzhou Ninth People’s Hospital, Hangzhou 311225, Zhejiang Province, China
Hong-Mei Zhang, Jing-Xia Xu, Department of Nursing, Hangzhou Children’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China
Qi-Ying Zhou, Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, Hangzhou Children’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China
He Wang, Out-patient infection, Hangzhou Children’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China
Xiao-Cheng Pan, Traditional Chinese Medicine Ward, Hangzhou Children’s Hospital, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China
Author contributions: Zhang YL and Pan XC conceived and designed the study; Zhang HM guided the study; Xu JX and Zhou QY collected the clinical date; Zhang YL and Wang H analyzed the data; all authors drafted and revised the manuscript.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Hangzhou Children’s Hospital.
Informed consent statement: All study participants, or their legal guardian, provided informed written consent prior to study enrollment.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no financial relationships to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Xiao-Cheng Pan, MS, Chief Nurse, Traditional Chinese Medicine Ward, Hangzhou Children’s Hospital, No. 195 Wenhui Road, Gongshu District, Hangzhou 310014, Zhejiang Province, China. ertongzhongyi@126.com
Received: September 14, 2023
Peer-review started: September 14, 2023
First decision: October 8, 2023
Revised: November 22, 2023
Accepted: December 19, 2023
Article in press: December 19, 2023
Published online: January 19, 2024
Abstract
BACKGROUND

Gender consciousness directly affects the development of gender identity, which is a continuous and lifelong process. Meanwhile, hospitalization is a part of many children's lives and has an impact on their gender development.

AIM

To investigate the current situation of gender identity in lower primary school children by conducting a survey of 202 hospitalized children in the lower grades and to provide a theoretical basis and foundation for the cultivation of gender identity and medical treatment of children based on the results. This study aims to inspire clinical medical staff to scientifically and reasonably arrange hospital wards for lower primary school children and pay attention to gender protection during the medical treatment process and to help children shape a unified and clear gender identity, which will enable them to better integrate into society and promote their personality development.

METHODS

The gender consciousness scale for elementary and middle school students was used for the survey.

RESULTS

Gender identity was already present in lower primary school children. The children's gender roles and gender equality consciousness were strong, exceeding the critical value, but their gender characteristics, gender identity, and gender ideal consciousness were weak. Children aged 6 had the weakest gender identity, and girls had significantly stronger gender identity than boys.

CONCLUSION

Gender identity is already present in lower primary school children, providing a basis and inspiration for the cultivation of gender identity and medical treatment of lower primary school children. Clinical medical staff should be aware of and understand these results and should scientifically and reasonably arrange hospital wards for lower primary school children.

Keywords: School-age children, Gender consciousness, Gender identity, Hospitalization, Gender weakening

Core Tip: Investigate the gender consciousness of hospitalized elementary school children and their current development status from a social gender perspective. Enable children to better integrate into society and promote the development of their personality and sound gender consciousness.