A comparison of treated and untreated male cross-dressers

Abstract

In an interview study of 70 male members of cross-dressing clubs, multiple comparisons between treated and untreated subjects showed that the two groups are more similar than dissimilar. The only areas of comparison in which the treated group significantly differed from the untreated group were in fantasizing themselves as females while masturbating, having ever engaged in heterosexual intercourse while cross-dressed, currently preferring both heterosexual intercourse and homosexual behavior while cross-dressed, and having experienced more adverse consequences from cross-dressing. Further, where comparisons are possible, our results are similar to those found in prior studies. All of the subjects were male and the average age of onset is prior to 10 years, with virtually all subjects first cross-dressing if not in childhood then by middle adolescence. The course is chronic with only occasional and usually brief remissions, although there are instances in a minority of subjects of periods of remission lasting several months to a few years within the context of more than two decades of otherwise continuous cross-dressing behavior. The interval between onset and first treatment, if any, is several years. Early in its development, cross-dressing is virtually always associated with sexual arousal and sexual behavior, usually masturbation. Later, in adult life, it is more frequently associated with heterosexual intercourse and only rarely with masturbation as subjects approach middle age. There is a trend toward a more asexual nature to the cross-dressing during late adult life. Cross-dressing is infrequently associated with sadomasochism and not at all with exhibitionism. Rates of unipolar depression and alcoholism were increased in this sample. The results do not support a significant positive association between cross-dressing and obsessive-compulsive neurosis. The present study confirms previous findings that cross-dressing lacks a familial component either with respect to cross-dressing itself or in association with another disorder.