Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Gender Identity

Gender identity is a person's internal, deeply held sense of their own gender, which may be male, female, a blend, or neither, and which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth. It is distinct from biological sex, defined by chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy, and from sexual orientation, which concer…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 10 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 18× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2641-4538 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Gender identity is a person's internal, deeply held sense of their own gender, which may be male, female, a blend, or neither, and which may or may not correspond to the sex assigned at birth. It is distinct from biological sex, defined by chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy, and from sexual orientation, which concerns attraction to others. For many people gender identity aligns with their assigned sex, a state described as cisgender, while for others it differs, as among transgender and gender-diverse individuals. Gender identity typically develops early and is expressed through behavior, presentation, and self-understanding, and it interacts with social roles, cultural context, and family and community attitudes. In health and public-health research, gender identity is studied because gender-diverse and sexual-minority populations, including LGBTQ+ youth, transgender people, and lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals, often face discrimination, stigma, and barriers to care that contribute to mental-health disparities and unmet needs. Studies examine childhood behavioral patterns, identity development, the attitudes of healthcare providers and students toward gender-diverse individuals, and strategies to promote wellbeing and reduce inequities. Understanding gender identity is important for delivering respectful, inclusive, and effective care, for addressing the social determinants that affect these populations, and for advancing health equity across diverse gender experiences.

Research published in this journal

10 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2020

How do College Students in India Respond to Gender-Based Violence (GBV)?

Nagaraj NitashaCorresponding author
Research Scientist, The George Washington University, Milken Institute School of Public Health, Department of Prevention and Community Health, 950 New Hampshire Ave, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington
Public Health International Cited by 2 doi:10.14302/issn.2641-4538.jphi-20-3170

How this research is being cited

The 10 articles above have been cited 18 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Gender Identity, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Public Health International (ISSN 2641-4538).

Journal editorial board
Javad Javan-Noughabi · United Kingdom Evelyn O Talbott · United States Zainab Taha · United Arab Emirates

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.