Regret following gender transition is rare. Pooled data from numerous studies puts the regret rate between 0.3% and 3.8%, and that number has trended downward over time as surgical techniques and social support have improved. The vast majority of people who transition report high satisfaction with their decision, both in the short term and years later.
That said, this is a question with layers. The raw percentages only tell part of the story. Understanding who experiences regret, why they do, and what “detransition” actually looks like in practice gives a much fuller picture.
What the Research Shows Overall
A Cornell University synthesis of existing research found that regret rates across studies consistently fall below 4%. A systematic review published in JAMA Surgery reported a regret rate of roughly 1% following both transfeminine and transmasculine surgical procedures. In one 2022 survey of 139 people who had undergone gender-affirming mastectomy, the median regret score was 0 on a 100-point scale.
These numbers hold up over time. A longitudinal study following young people who received gender-affirming care during adolescence found that after 6 to 10 years, the regret rate was 4%, and half of those who expressed some regret continued their care anyway. Satisfaction scores averaged 6.38 out of 7 for puberty blockers and 6.67 out of 7 for hormones. Treatment discontinuation was also very low, at just 3%.
To put this in perspective, regret rates for common elective surgeries like knee replacement and cosmetic procedures typically range from 5% to 20%, depending on the procedure. Gender-affirming care falls well below that.
Why People Detransition
The word “detransition” often gets conflated with regret, but they aren’t the same thing. Some people stop or reverse aspects of their transition while still identifying as transgender. The reasons are more often practical or social than they are about a change in identity.
A study highlighted by Fenway Health found that 82.5% of people who detransitioned pointed to at least one external factor. The most commonly cited reasons were pressure from a parent (35.5%), community or societal stigma (32.5%), and difficulty finding employment (26.8%). Smaller numbers cited pressure from medical professionals (5.6%) or religious leaders (5.3%).
Only 2.4% of people who detransitioned said it was because they had doubts about their gender identity. Another 10.4% attributed it to fluctuations in their sense of gender. In other words, the overwhelming majority of people who stop transitioning do so not because they weren’t truly transgender, but because the social costs became too high.
Mental Health Before and After Transition
One reason satisfaction rates are high is that gender-affirming care produces measurable improvements in mental health. A study published in JAMA Network Open found that young people who began puberty blockers or gender-affirming hormones had 60% lower odds of depression and 73% lower odds of suicidality compared with those who had not yet started treatment. These findings held after researchers adjusted for other factors that could influence the results. No significant change was observed for anxiety specifically.
These mental health improvements help explain why so few people regret transitioning. For most, the distress they experienced before transition was far greater than any challenges that came after.
The “Most Trans Kids Grow Out of It” Claim
You may have encountered the statistic that 60% to 90% of transgender children “desist,” or stop identifying as transgender, by adulthood. This figure comes from a handful of older studies and has been widely cited in policy debates. But a comprehensive review published through the American Psychological Association found it to be, in the researchers’ words, “without scientific merit.”
The review identified serious problems with the studies behind that claim. Many included children who never met the criteria for gender dysphoria in the first place, simply children who showed some gender-nonconforming behavior. Others had high dropout rates, and researchers often counted anyone who didn’t return for follow-up as having desisted. Simulations showed that volunteer bias alone could account for the results. When more recent and methodologically sound studies were included, the estimates became so inconsistent that no reliable desistance figure could be drawn from the data at all.
The Role of Support
One consistent finding across the research is that social support matters enormously. Regret rates have dropped over time, and researchers attribute this partly to better surgical outcomes but also to more affirming social environments. People who transition with family acceptance, workplace protections, and community support report higher satisfaction and are far less likely to detransition.
The flip side is also true. When people do detransition, external pressure is almost always part of the picture. Losing family relationships, facing harassment, or being unable to find work pushes people to reverse a transition that was otherwise improving their well-being. This distinction matters because it means that most detransition isn’t evidence that transition was the wrong choice. It’s evidence that the environment made continuing too costly.