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Measuring Gender Dysphoria: A Multicenter Examination and Comparison of the Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale and the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults

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Abstract

This study examined two instruments measuring gender dysphoria within the multicenter study of the European Network for the Investigation of Gender Incongruence (ENIGI). The Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale (UGDS) and the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults (GIDYQ-AA) were examined for their definitions of gender dysphoria and their psychometric properties, and evaluated for their congruence in assessing the construct. The sample of 318 participants consisted of 178 male-to-females (MtF) and 140 female-to-males (FtM) who were recruited from the four ENIGI gender clinics. Both instruments were significantly correlated in the group of MtFs. For the FtM group, there was a trend in the same direction but smaller. Gender dysphoria was found to be defined differently in the two instruments, which led to slightly different findings regarding the subgroups. The UGDS detected a difference between the subgroups of early and late onset of gender identity disorder in the group of MtFs, whereas the GIDYQ-AA did not. For the FtM group, no significant effect of age of onset was found. Therefore, both instruments seem to capture not only similar but also different aspects of gender dysphoria. The UGDS focusses on bodily aspects, gender identity, and gender role, while the GIDYQ-AA addresses subjective, somatic, social, and sociolegal aspects. For future research, consistency in theory and definition of gender dysphoria is needed and should be in line with the DSM-5 diagnosis of gender dysphoria in adolescents and adults.

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Acknowledgments

We are most grateful to all persons who made this research possible, especially the participants of this study. We would also like to thank the collaborating medical and psychosocial staff and colleagues of all four clinics in Belgium, in the Netherlands, in Norway, and in Hamburg. Further, we would like to especially thank the Editor, for his thoughtful comments and his input regarding the statistical analyses. The first author is especially grateful for his patience and support in the process.

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Correspondence to Hertha Richter-Appelt.

Appendix

Appendix

Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale

Female-to-Male Version

Response categories are agree completely, agree somewhat, neutral, disagree somewhat, disagree completely. Items 1, 2, 4–6, and 10–12 are scored from 5 to 1; Items 3 and 7–9 are scored from 1 to 5.

  1. (1)

    I prefer to behave like a boy.

  2. (2)

    Every time someone treats me like a girl I feel hurt.

  3. (3)

    I love to live as a girl.

  4. (4)

    I continuously want to be treated like a boy.

  5. (5)

    A boy’s life is more attractive for me than a girl’s life.

  6. (6)

    I feel unhappy because I have to behave like a girl.

  7. (7)

    Living as a girl is something positive for me.

  8. (8)

    I enjoy seeing my naked body in the mirror.

  9. (9)

    I like to behave sexually as a girl.

  10. (10)

    I hate menstruating because it makes me feel like a girl.

  11. (11)

    I hate having breasts.

  12. (12)

    I wish I had been born as a boy.

Male-to-Female Version

Response categories are agree completely, agree somewhat, neutral, disagree somewhat, disagree completely. Items are all scored from 5 to 1.

  1. (1)

    My life would be meaningless if I would have to live as a boy.

  2. (2)

    Every time someone treats me like a boy I feel hurt.

  3. (3)

    I feel unhappy if someone calls me a boy.

  4. (4)

    I feel unhappy because I have a male body.

  5. (5)

    The idea that I will always be a boy gives me a sinking feeling.

  6. (6)

    I hate myself because I’m a boy.

  7. (7)

    I feel uncomfortable behaving like a boy, always and everywhere.

  8. (8)

    Only as a girl my life would be worth living.

  9. (9)

    I dislike urinating in a standing position.

  10. (10)

    I am dissatisfied with my beard growth because it makes me look like a boy.

  11. (11)

    I dislike having erections.

  12. (12)

    It would be better not to live than to live as a boy.

Scoring and Evaluation

To calculate the total score, all Items of the Male version and Items 1, 2, 4–6, and 10–12 of the female version have to be reversed scored.

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Schneider, C., Cerwenka, S., Nieder, T.O. et al. Measuring Gender Dysphoria: A Multicenter Examination and Comparison of the Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale and the Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults. Arch Sex Behav 45, 551–558 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0702-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0702-x

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