University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

Gender expression varies within diverse gender identities in adolescents and adults

Kadel, Brooke Elyse

This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.

Permalink

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127417

Description

Title
Gender expression varies within diverse gender identities in adolescents and adults
Author(s)
Kadel, Brooke Elyse
Issue Date
2024-12-13
Director of Research (if dissertation) or Advisor (if thesis)
Derringer, Jaime
Committee Member(s)
Briley, D. A.
Department of Study
Psychology
Discipline
Psychology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
M.S.
Degree Level
Thesis
Keyword(s)
  • gender expression
  • gender identity
  • gender nonconformity
  • nonbinary
  • sexual orientation
Abstract
Gender is typically considered in psychological science using limited categorical identities that do not necessarily capture the experiences of gender-diverse people. Gender expression provides a unique way of accounting for variation due to gender by using a continuous measure, which may help give nuance to our understanding of how gender is experienced. This study examines patterns of variance in dimensional measures of gender expression within and between diverse gender identity categories. We compare results across two data sets spanning adolescence and adulthood: the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) dataset, a sample of diverse adolescents throughout the United States (N=10,120), and the POWER relationship study, a survey of adults recruited via social media, oversampled for diverse gender identities and sexual orientations (N=1,405). Across both samples, our results revealed variance in gender expression within categorical gender identities and overlap in gender expression between categories, with less pronounced differences between sexual orientation categories in adults than in adolescents. We find both variation and consistency in gender expression across age cohorts, potentially informing the development of gender expression over time. These results illustrate the importance of recognizing gender as complex spectra to better represent diverse personal experiences. 
Graduation Semester
2024-12
Type of Resource
Thesis
Handle URL
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/127417
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2024 Brooke Kadel

Owning Collections

Graduate Dissertations and Theses at Illinois PRIMARY
Graduate Theses and Dissertations at Illinois