Gender reorientation, psychological adjustment, and involvement with female partners in female-to-male transsexuals

Abstract

The present research examined the relationship, in a sample of female-to-male transsexuals, between psychological and social adjustment, on the one hand, and gender reorientation (approximation of the status of the opposite biological sex) on the other. This work was conducted in two stages. The quantification of the gender reorientation construct was investigated in Study 1. A gender reorientation index (GRI) was developed and subjected to standard tests of psychometric adequacy. The GRI proved to be reliable and to have a satisfactory factorial composition, and it was considered an adequate measure of gender reorientation for use in the second study. Study 2 investigated the relationship between symptomatic depression and tension, involvement with a female partner, and gender reorientation. Four stepwise multiple regression analyses were carried out, one for each of four criterion variables (depression, tension, partner-involvement, and the MMPI Lie Scale). The predictor variables, gender reorientation and age, were the same in each analysis. There was a statistically significant negative correlation between depression and gender reorientation and between tension and gender reorientation, and a significant positive correlation between involvement with a female partner and gender reorientation. The GRI did not correlate with the MMPI Lie Scale, and age was not significantly related to any of the criterion variables. Thus, the present findings support the notion that gender reorientation is accompanied by improved psychological and social adjustment.