Gender reorientation and psychosocial adjustment in male-to-female transsexuals

Abstract

This study examined the relationship, in a sample of male-to-female 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. Three gender reorientation variables were studied: exogenous female hormones, vaginoplasty, and social feminization (adoption of the female gender role at home and in the transsexual's social life and the procurement of documents indicating the female sex). These three gender reorientation variables plus age were employed as predictor variables in a series of multiple regression analyses. Five stepwise regression analyses were carried out, one for each of five criterion variables (depression, tension, involvement with a male partner, cohabitation with a male partner, and the MMPI Lie Scale). There was a statistically significant negative correlation between depression and social feminization and between tension and social feminization, and a significant positive correlation between cohabitation with a male partner and vaginoplasty. Neither the MMPI Lie Scale nor the simple fact of having been “involved” with a male partner at some point during the past year correlated significantly with any of the predictor variables. These results indicate that gender reorientation is associated with better psychological and social adjustment in male-to-female transsexuals.