Collective Self-Esteem as a Coping Resource for Male-to-Female Transsexuals.

The fear of experiencing discrimination often provokes symptoms of psychological distress. One coping resource is positive identification with one's social group-known as collective self-esteem. This preliminary study investigated whether collective self-esteem was related to fears regarding a transsexual identity and psychological distress among 53 self-identified male-to-female transsexuals (mean age = 50.79). Participants were recruited from transgender events held in Arizona and California. The majority (81%) reported living full-time as women (mean length of time living as a woman = 6.33 years). Negative feelings about the transsexual community and fears regarding the impact of a transsexual identity were positively related to psychological distress. A regression model revealed that the fear of how a transsexual identity would affect one's life was the best predictor of the severity of psychological distress. These results are consistent with findings from other historically marginalized groups whereby the stress of being stigmatized by society adversely affects mental health.

[1]  Arthur W. Toga,et al.  Regional gray matter variation in male-to-female transsexualism , 2009, NeuroImage.

[2]  Eric Vilain,et al.  Androgen Receptor Repeat Length Polymorphism Associated with Male-to-Female Transsexualism , 2009, Biological Psychiatry.

[3]  D. Frost,et al.  Internalized Homophobia and Relationship Quality among Lesbians, Gay Men, and Bisexuals. , 2009, Journal of counseling psychology.

[4]  E. Vilain,et al.  The Biology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity , 2009 .

[5]  Donald W. Pfaff,et al.  Hormones, brain, and behavior , 2009 .

[6]  R. Gellman Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Clients (2nd Edition) by K. J. Bieschke, R. M. Perez, & K. A. DeBord , 2008 .

[7]  I Savic,et al.  Male-to-female transsexuals show sex-atypical hypothalamus activation when smelling odorous steroids. , 2008, Cerebral cortex.

[8]  J. Cantor,et al.  Is Gender Identity Disorder in Adolescents Coming out of the Closet? , 2008, Journal of sex & marital therapy.

[9]  D. Mccloskey Politics in Scholarly Drag: Dreger’s Assault on the Critics of Bailey , 2008, Archives of sexual behavior.

[10]  R. Stotzer Gender identity and hate crimes: Violence against transgender people in Los Angeles County , 2008 .

[11]  R. Fassinger,et al.  The role of collective self-esteem for Asian Americans experiencing racism-related stress: a test of moderator and mediator hypotheses. , 2008, Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology.

[12]  M. Davidson Seeking refuge under the umbrella: Inclusion, exclusion, and organizing within the category Transgender , 2007 .

[13]  Gabriel Arkles,et al.  Unraveling injustice: Race and class impact of medicaid exclusions of transition-related health care for transgender people , 2007 .

[14]  Anne A. Lawrence Md and Becoming What We Love: autogynephilic transsexualism conceptualized as an expression of romantic love , 2007 .

[15]  A. Lawrence Becoming What We Love: autogynephilic transsexualism conceptualized as an expression of romantic love , 2007, Perspectives in biology and medicine.

[16]  Ann R. Fischer,et al.  Perceived discrimination and women's psychological distress: The roles of collective and personal self-esteem. , 2007 .

[17]  R. Rubens,et al.  Prevalence and demography of transsexualism in Belgium , 2007, European Psychiatry.

[18]  Darryl B. Hill,et al.  Gender Identity Disorders in Childhood and Adolescence , 2006 .

[19]  Taylor Francis Online Journal of gay & lesbian psychotherapy , 2007 .

[20]  P. Lorah,et al.  An Overview of Affirmative Psychotherapy and Counseling With Transgender Clients. , 2007 .

[21]  A. Lev Transgender Communities: Developing Identity Through Connection. , 2007 .

[22]  M. Tiggemann,et al.  Oh to be lean and muscular: Body image ideals in gay and heterosexual men. , 2007 .

[23]  K. Bieschke,et al.  Handbook of counseling and psychotherapy with lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients, 2nd ed. , 2007 .

[24]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using multivariate statistics, 5th ed. , 2007 .

[25]  J. Levi Clothes Don't Make the Man (or Woman), But Gender Identity Might , 2006 .

[26]  K. Zucker Commentary on Langer and Martin’s (2004) “How Dresses Can Make You Mentally Ill: Examining Gender Identity Disorder in Children” , 2006 .

[27]  M. Katz,et al.  Attempted Suicide Among Transgender Persons , 2006, Journal of homosexuality.

[28]  Bonnie Moradi,et al.  Perceived discrimination experiences and mental health of Latina/o american persons. , 2006 .

[29]  G. Gee,et al.  Self-reported discrimination and mental health status among African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos in the New Hampshire REACH 2010 Initiative: the added dimension of immigration. , 2006, American journal of public health.

[30]  Geneviève A. Mageau,et al.  On the risk of being a cultural chameleon: variations in collective self-esteem across social interactions. , 2006, Cultural diversity & ethnic minority psychology.

[31]  S. E. Walch,et al.  Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation of the Transgender Adaptation and Integration Measure (TG AIM) , 2006 .

[32]  W. Bockting,et al.  Commentary: Gender Variance, Dissonance, or Identity Disorder? , 2006 .

[33]  R. Spitzer Sexual and Gender Identity Disorders , 2006 .

[34]  Casac Arlene Istar Lev Lcsw Disordering Gender Identity , 2006 .

[35]  Stephen Koder M. B. B. S. Franzcp Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and Their Families , 2006 .

[36]  T. Widiger,et al.  Diagnostic categories or dimensions? A question for the Diagnostic And Statistical Manual Of Mental Disorders--fifth edition. , 2005, Journal of abnormal psychology.

[37]  B. Hausman The Man Who Would Be Queen: The Science of Gender-Bending and Transsexualism , 2005 .

[38]  W. Bockting BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM MEETS GENDER DIVERSITY IN HUMAN SEXUALITY , 2005 .

[39]  Q. Rahman,et al.  An Empirical Test of the Kin Selection Hypothesis for Male Homosexuality , 2005, Archives of sexual behavior.

[40]  Staffan Nilsson,et al.  Sex steroid-related genes and male-to-female transsexualism , 2005, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[41]  R. Blanchard Early History of the Concept of Autogynephilia , 2005, Archives of sexual behavior.

[42]  Bryan S. K. Kim,et al.  Asian and European American Cultural Values, Collective Self-Esteem, Acculturative Stress, Cognitive Flexibility, and General Self-Efficacy Among Asian American College Students. , 2005 .

[43]  Darryl B. Hill Trans/Gender/Sexuality , 2005 .

[44]  R. Spitzer,et al.  Was the Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood Diagnosis Introduced into DSM-III as a Backdoor Maneuver to Replace Homosexuality? A Historical Note , 2005, Journal of sex & marital therapy.

[45]  W. Bockting,et al.  Patient Satisfaction with Transgender Health Services , 2004, Journal of sex & marital therapy.

[46]  S. Langer,et al.  How Dresses Can Make You Mentally Ill: Examining Gender Identity Disorder in Children , 2004 .

[47]  Anne A. Lawrence Md and Autogynephilia: A Paraphilic Model of Gender Identity Disorder , 2004 .

[48]  I. Meyer Prejudice, social stress, and mental health in lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations: conceptual issues and research evidence. , 2003, Psychological bulletin.

[49]  Stig-Eric Olsson,et al.  On the Incidence and Sex Ratio of Transsexualism in Sweden, 1972–2002 , 2003, Archives of sexual behavior.

[50]  Alexandra F. Corning,et al.  Self-Esteem as a Moderator Between Perceived Discrimination and Psychological Distress Among Women , 2002 .

[51]  M. Hagen,et al.  Ethical principles of psychologists and code of conduct. , 2002, The American psychologist.

[52]  P. Cohen-Kettenis,et al.  The Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association's Standards of Care for Gender Identity Disorders, Sixth Version , 2002 .

[53]  N. Michael,et al.  Sex ratio of transsexuals in Germany: the development over three decades , 2000, Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica.

[54]  D. Bowen,et al.  Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Health: Findings and Concerns , 2000 .

[55]  D F Swaab,et al.  Male-to-female transsexuals have female neuron numbers in a limbic nucleus. , 2000, The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism.

[56]  C. Reisen,et al.  Psychological well-being among Latino lesbians and gay men. , 1999 .

[57]  R. Tewksbury,et al.  Conformity Pressures and Gender Resistance Among Transgendered Individuals , 1998 .

[58]  J S Jackson,et al.  Racism and the physical and mental health status of African Americans: a thirteen year national panel study. , 1996, Ethnicity & disease.

[59]  Dick F. Swaab,et al.  A sex difference in the human brain and its relation to transsexuality , 1995, Nature.

[60]  J. Rabe-Jabłońska,et al.  [Affective disorders in the fourth edition of the classification of mental disorders prepared by the American Psychiatric Association -- diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders]. , 1993, Psychiatria polska.

[61]  J. Crocker,et al.  A Collective Self-Esteem Scale: Self-Evaluation of One's Social Identity , 1992 .

[62]  Eric B. Gordon Transsexual healing: Medicaid funding of sex reassignment surgery , 1991, Archives of sexual behavior.

[63]  R. Blanchard Clinical observations and systematic studies of autogynephilia. , 1991, Journal of sex & marital therapy.

[64]  J. Crocker,et al.  Collective self-esteem and ingroup bias. , 1990 .

[65]  R. Blanchard,et al.  The classification and labeling of nonhomosexual gender dysphorias , 1989, Archives of sexual behavior.

[66]  L. Gooren,et al.  Prevalence of Transsexualism in the Netherlands , 1988, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[67]  S. Askew Boys Don't Cry , 1988 .

[68]  F. Slijper,et al.  Androgens and gender role behaviour in girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH). , 1984, Progress in brain research.

[69]  B. Tabachnick,et al.  Using Multivariate Statistics , 1983 .

[70]  L. Loeb,et al.  The Resolution of a Transsexual Wish in a Five-Year-Old Boy , 1982, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

[71]  S. Finch,et al.  Prenatal ‘female hormone’ administration and psychosexual development in human males , 1980, Psychoneuroendocrinology.

[72]  R. Stoller Fathers of Transsexual Children , 1979, Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association.

[73]  M Landén,et al.  Incidence and Sex Ratio of Transsexualism in Sweden , 1971, British Journal of Psychiatry.

[74]  D. J. Lee Society and the Adolescent Self-Image , 1969 .

[75]  M. Rosenberg Society and the adolescent self-image , 1966 .

[76]  C. Winslow,et al.  Sexual Behavior in the Human Male , 1948 .