In one study, almost 9 in 10 young people questioning their gender seemed to be subject to social influence

Social influence   Teenagers  

86.7% of the young people in Lisa Littman’s 2018 study1 belonged to a friend group where one or more friends came out as trans at the same time, and/or had an increase in their use of social media.

Social contagion – the involuntary “catching” of behaviors and attitudes across connected individuals2 – is a well-accepted phenomenon in psychological literature3. It is well-documented that adolescents — and females in particular — are prone to social contagion effects, from cutting4 to eating disorders5. Social network analyses suggest that peer contagion underlies the influence of friendship on obesity, unhealthy body images, and expectations6.

  1. Littman, L. (2018). Rapid-onset gender dysphoria in adolescents and young adults: A study of parental reports. PLOS ONE, 13 (8). [Link] ↩︎
  2. Levy, D. A., & Nail, P. R. (1993). Contagion: A theoretical and empirical review and reconceptualization. Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs 119 (2): 233-284. [Link] ↩︎
  3. Burgess, L.G., Riddell, P.M., Fancourt, A. & Murayama, K. (2018). The Influence of Social Contagion Within Education: A Motivational Perspective. Mind, Brain, and Education 12: 164-174. [Link] ↩︎
  4. Hermansson-Webb, E. B. (2014). ‘With Friends Like These…’: The Social Contagion of Non-Suicidal Self-Injury Amongst Adolescent Females. Thesis, Doctor of Philosophy: University of Otago. [Link] ↩︎
  5. Allison, S., Warin, M. & Bastiampillai, T. (2013). Anorexia nervosa and social contagion: Clinical implications. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry 48 (2): 116-120. [Link] ↩︎
  6. Dishion, T. J., & Tipsord, J. M. (2011). Peer contagion in child and adolescent social and emotional development. Annual review of psychology 62: 189–214. [Link] ↩︎
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