La disforia di genere nell’infanzia.

Gender identity development is a process influenced by elements in an interactive system during different developmental stages. It is a gradual process that involves both emotional and cognitive processes: the result of an interaction between the child’s biological and genetic endowment, his psychological traits and his social and family environment. This article describes characteristics of gender variant development in pre- pubertal children. After an introduction to gender identity and its stages of development, the different hypotheses presented by the literature on gender variant development will be illustrated. Then, the characteristics of the caring process will be explained. In the interests of the children and their families, it is essential to take into account: 1) possible psychological distress associated with atypical gender identity development; 2) specific family dynamics; 3) social dynamics, with particular attention to peer relations, strongly associated with the child’s psychological wellbeing. Finally, there will be a discussion of the crucial role of the public services in their approach to the families of children with gender-variant development, and the potential need to refer them to specialist services.