Rapid Onset Gender Dysphoria

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Richman on February 20, 2024.

Rapid onset gender dysphoria (ROGD) is an unfounded theory that purports transgender identities are social contagions. In other words, it falsely claims that by being exposed to transgender people, youth can experience an onset of gender distress. ROGD has not been recognised by any major professional association as a valid mental health diagnosis, and use of the term has been heavily discouraged by the (WPATH) World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Journal of Pediatrics, and other medical organizations. This is due to a lack of reputable evidence, major methodological issues in existing research, and its likelihood to cause harm by stigmatizing medically necessary gender-affirming care. 

ROGD is mostly strongly associated with the work of Dr. Lisa Littman, who published a study purporting to substantiate the hypothesis of ROGD. The study was based on the reports of parents recruited from well-known, anti-trans websites. Dr. Littman’s report is considered to be heavily biased due to its sample group and ignorance towards more plausible explanations and existing research.

A 2023 study reporting over 1600 possible cases of “socially contagious” ROGD was retracted for failure to obtain ethics approval from the international review board, further denouncing the validity of this hypothesis.

ROGD has been heavily criticized as anti-trans propaganda and is widely considered ‘bad science’. In 2021, the American Psychological Association and the American Psychiatric Association cosigned a statement with 120 other medical organizations in the evidence-based Coalition for the Advancement & Application of Psychological Science, calling for ROGD and other ‘anti-trans theories’ not to be used in diagnostic or clinical settings, due to their lack of scientific evidence.