the role of rumination in linking virtual social networks and parent-child relations to gender dysphoria in adolescent girls

Introduction: adolescent girls increasingly engage with virtual social networks, which,alongside parent-child relationships, may influence their psychological well-being,particularly regarding gender identity. this study examines how social media and parentchildrelationships affect gender dysphoria in adolescent girls, with rumination as amediator.methods: using a descriptive correlational design, this study explored relationshipsamong gender dysphoria, negative virtual social network effects, parent-child relationshipquality, and rumination in 316 adolescent females aged 13–18, selected via multi-stagecluster random sampling in 2024. data were collected using the gender identity/genderdysphoria questionnaire, parent-child relationship scale, virtual social network addictionquestionnaire, and rumination response scale. structural equation modeling (sem),conducted with amos, tested the hypothesized relationships among variables. model fit wasassessed using the goodness of fit index (gfi), adjusted goodness of fit index (agfi),comparative fit index (cfi), and root mean square error of approximation (rmsea),indicating good model fit.results: parent-child relationship quality negatively correlated with rumination (β=-0.56,p<0.001) and gender dysphoria (β=-0.36, p<0.001). negative social media effects positivelycorrelated with rumination (β=0.27, p<0.001) and gender dysphoria (β=0.09, p<0.001).rumination positively correlated with gender dysphoria (β=0.53, p<0.001) and mediatedthe relationships between parent-child relationship quality (β=-0.29, p<0.001) and negativesocial media effects (β=0.14, p<0.001) with gender dysphoria.conclusion: positive parent-child relationships and negative social media experiencesinfluence gender dysphoria in adolescent girls, mediated by rumination. interventions usingcognitive-behavioral approaches, such as mindfulness and rumination-focused therapy,alongside family therapy and digital literacy workshops, may promote healthier familydynamics and safer online engagement.