Psychological profile of transgender people under treatment

Introduction: Transsexualism is an emergent field in healthcare and consequently is plagued by stereotypes. Two of the most widespread misconceptions are that transgender people have serious psychopathological disorders and that they are less happy than the general population. Objective: The main aim of this study was to characterize the psychological profile of transgender people and, in particular, the presence of psychopathological features in their personality profile. The presence of depressive features was also investigated. A second aim was to assess the differences in psychological profile between the sexes (female-to-male or male-to-females transgender people). Material and Method: A cross-sectional study was carried out. The patients were selected consecutively according to their order of access to the Gender Identity Disorder Unit (GIDU) of Madrid at the beginning of the study. The sample was composed of 121 patients from the GIDU. All patients completed the study. The access criterion was a diagnosis of transsexualism. The patients were administered the following psychological tests: Gender Identity Diagnosis Interview, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28), Emotional Competence Questionnaire, Psychological well-being Scale, Life Satisfaction Scale, Subjective Happiness Scale, the NEO Personality Inventory (NEO-PI) and the Milton Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III (MCMI-III). Outcomes: The subjects showed a high level of well-being. No serious psychopathological alterations were found. Differences between sexes were few but striking. Only one significant factor was found in the subjects' personality profile. Conclusions: Transgender people do not have a psychopathological personality profile. The differences between sexes are few but important. (C) 2012 Asociacion Espanola de Andrologia, Medicina Sexual y Reproductiva. Published by Elsevier Espana, S.L. All rights reserved.