Largest Detransition Study to Date: “Rarely a Straight Line Back”

People who stop a gender transition rarely do so for one simple reason. That is the central finding of the largest survey to date of people who discontinued or reversed their transition: the DARE study (detransition analysis, representation, and exploration), published in April 2026 in the Journal of LGBTQ+ Mental Health. Between December 2023 and April 2024, 957 participants from the United States and Canada completed an online questionnaire about their experiences of stopping or reversing a social or medical transition.

Who took part

The participants were predominantly white, assigned female at birth, and relatively young: most were 29 or younger, with an average age of around 26. All participants had started a transition at some point: a social transition (a different name, different pronouns, or a different presentation), a medical transition, or usually both. 65% had taken a medical step, such as hormones or surgery. That distinction matters: the study is not only about people who regretted surgery, but about a much broader group who initiated a transition at some point and later partially or fully stepped back from it.

Why people stop

The most frequently cited reasons for stopping were a changed understanding of one’s own gender (52%), a broader shift in identity (47%), no improvement in mental health (40%), the spontaneous disappearance of gender dysphoria (41%), and experiences of discrimination or rejection (39%). None of these reasons dominates; instead, the researchers emphasize that detransition has multiple, often overlapping causes — both internal (identity and self-image) and external (social pressure, lack of support, and discrimination).

No straight line back

What stands out is how non-linear this process is. Participants used an average of 4.22 different gender labels throughout their lives, and 42% said they had resumed their transition at some point after a period of stopping. After stopping, some identified as non-binary, some continued to call themselves transgender, and some specifically described themselves as detransitioned — often in different sequences over time. In this sample, that makes detransition less of an endpoint than a phase in a longer, unpredictable journey. ikbentrans.nl discusses what this means for self-image in an article about identity after detransition.

Autism and childhood trauma more common

The study also measured neurodiversity and early adversity. Of the participants, 42% identified as autistic, a considerably higher percentage than in the general population. The average ACE score (Adverse Childhood Experiences, a measure of childhood trauma) was also far above the population average: 4.03 compared with 1.79. The researchers do not draw a direct causal conclusion from this, but the figures underscore that people who stop or reverse a transition more often contend with underlying vulnerabilities that deserve attention in their own right. A Finnish study of nine detransitioners found a psychiatric history in all nine participants. More about the connection with autism can be found in autism and transgender identity.

What this means for healthcare

For the authors, the key conclusion is that ‘detransition’ is not a uniform phenomenon that can be dismissed with a single explanation — regret, outside pressure, or a misdiagnosis. According to the study, healthcare professionals who assume only a linear path from diagnosis to transition to possible regret fail to recognize the reality of clients who move back and forth between identities, with varying levels of support and varying outcomes. This argues for guidance that is open to such fluidity, rather than placing clients in a fixed box as soon as they have made a choice. Another analysis of the same 957 participants, distinguishing four profiles of detransitioners, is discussed by transspijt.nl.