Ide Health Dictionary

See MULTIPLE BIRTHS.... identical twins

Gender identity is the inner sense of masculinity or femininity, and gender role is an individual’s public expression of being male, female, or a ‘mix’ (androgynous). Most people have no di?culty because their gender identity and role are congruous. A person with a gender identity disorder, however, has a con?ict between anatomical sex and gender identity.

Gender is determined by a combination of genetic and environmental factors, in which the in?uence of family upbringing is an important factor. When physical sexual characteristics are ambiguous, the child’s gender identity can usually be established if the child is reared as being clearly male or female. Should, however, the child be confused about its sexual identity, the uncertainty may continue into adult life. Transsexuals generally experience con?icts of identity in childhood, and such problems usually occur by the age of two years. In this type of identity disorder, which occurs in one in 30,000 male births and one in 100,000 female births, the person believes that he or she is the victim of a biological accident, trapped in a body different from what is felt to be his or her true sex.

Treatment is di?cult: psychotherapy and hormone treatment may help, but some affected individuals want surgery to change their body’s sexual organs to match their innately felt sexual gender. The decision to seek a physical sex change raises major social problems for individuals, and ethical problems for their doctors. Surgery, which is not always successful in the long term, requires careful assessment, discussion and planning. It is important to preclude mental illness; results in homosexual men who have undergone surgery are not usually satisfactory. Advice and information may be obtained from Gender Identity Consultancy Services.... gender identity disorders

(Welsh) One who is happy; bountiful Idelisa, Idella, Idelissa, Idele, Idela... idelle

The inner feeling of maleness or femaleness.

Gender identity is not necessarily the same as biological sex.

It is fixed within the first 2–3 years of life and is reinforced during puberty; once established, it cannot usually be changed.

Gender identity problems, such as transsexualism, occur when a person has persistent feelings of discomfort about his or her sexual identity.... gender identity

(in psychology) linkage of one idea to another in a regular way according to their meaning. In free association the linkage of ideas arising in dreams or fantasy may be used to discover the underlying motives of the individual. In word association tests stimulus words are produced to which the subject has to respond as quickly as possible. See also loosening of associations.... association of ideas

accelerated thinking that occurs in psychosis, mania, hypomania, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Speech is rapid, moving from one topic to another and reflecting casual associations between ideas. In contrast to *loosening of associations, the link between themes is preserved, albeit often difficult to follow.... flight of ideas

see delusion of reference.... idea of reference

n. the process of thinking or of having *imagery or ideas. The presence or absence of suicidal ideation is tested as part of every *mental state examination and risk assessment.... ideation

combining form denoting 1. the mind or mental activity. 2. ideas.... ideo