Work

Measurement of gender expression among U.S. adolescents: Improvements in assessing gender diversity in survey research.

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: . The order of items (bipolar or unipolar first) was randomly assigned. The sample included 49.9% cisgender boys, 44.4% cisgender girls, and 5.5% transgender and gender nonbinary adolescents. For all genders, unipolar scales captured more diversity of gender expression than the corresponding bipolar scale. Unipolar measures showed statistically significant associations with mental distress, parental acceptance, bullying victimization, self-kindness, and self-judgment, whereas bipolar measures were associated with only mental distress, parental acceptance, and bullying victimization. Findings indicate that unipolar measures capture more diversity in gender expression than bipolar measures. Regression analyses suggest this diversity is meaningful beyond methodological variance. Future research may consider using unipolar measures to enhance measurement quality when assessing gender expression among adolescents.

Source: Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity

DOI: 10.1037/sgd0000958