Document Type : Original Article
Authors
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Education & Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran
Abstract
Background: Transgender people and those who have an undifferentiated gender identity face various personal and social challenges due to their dissatisfaction with the gender role and the desire to behave differently from the gender role. Thus, focusing on this group of people is one of the issues in health and psychology. To this end, the present study aimed to explore more deeply the challenges and problems faced by this group of people.
Methods: This qualitative study was conducted based on the grounded theory proposed by Corbin and Strauss on 15 members of social networks and the Association of People with Gender Dissatisfaction. The participants were selected through purposive sampling from among those with undifferentiated gender identities from childhood to adulthood. The data were collected via individual in-depth interviews with the participants. The collected data were analyzed using the systematic grounded theory approach to extract related categories and codes and develop a conceptual model.
Results: The analysis of the data revealed 54 themes that were grouped into 9 subcategories and 5 main categories. Gender affirming was extracted as the core phenomenon. The causal factors included the feeling of living in another person’s body and problems in social relationships. Contextual factors were divided into 4 subcategories including family challenges, positive and negative public reactions, peer relationship problems, and economic challenges. The intervening factors were school problems and the role of media. In addition, the consequences were the positive and negative experiences of life in another body. Finally, the extracted strategies were support and individual coping strategies.
Conclusion: Social factors and family and school play an important role in aggravating the problems of people with gender dissatisfaction. Focusing on empowering these people can help them adopt effective coping strategies. Besides, given the lack of recognition for people with gender dissatisfaction, raising public awareness of the challenges faced by these people is particularly important.
Highlights
Keywords
- Taslim N, Canales AD, Alshehab SMT. Gender Dysphoria: A Medical and Ethical Perplexity as Distinct from Reality and the Rational Approach for Muslim Young People. Psychiatr Danub. 2021;33(4):475-484. doi:10.24869/psyd.2021.475.
- Rebeca R, Tania R, Reed GM. Depathologizing sexual orientation and transgender identities in psychiatric classifications. Consort Psychiatr. 2021;2(2):44-52. doi: 10.17816/cp61.
- Morgan-Sowada H, Gamboni C. Needing to be “perfect” to be loved: the intersection of body dysmorphic disorder, sexual identity, and gay culture in gay men. A qualitative study. Sexual and Relationship Therapy. 2024;39(1):155-73. doi: 10.1080/14681994.2021.1975672.
- Valentine SE, Shipherd JC. A systematic review of social stress and mental health among transgender and gender non-conforming people in the United States. Clin Psychol Rev. 2018;66:24-38. doi: 10.1016/j.cpr.2018.03.003.
- Matsuzaka S, Romanelli M, Hudson KD. “Render a service worthy of me”: a qualitative study of factors influencing access to LGBTQ-specific health services. SSM Qual Res Health. 2021;1:100019. doi: 10.1016/j.ssmqr.2021.100019.
- Evans-Polce RJ, Kcomt L, Veliz PT, Boyd CJ, McCabe SE. Mental health-related quality of life by sex and sexual identity among US adults with alcohol and tobacco use disorder. J Psychiatr Res. 2022;149:136-44. doi: 10.1016/j. jpsychires.2022.02.025.
- Vargas-Huicochea I, Robles R, Real T, Fresán A, Cruz-Islas J, Vega-Ramírez H, et al. A qualitative study of the acceptability of the proposed ICD-11 gender incongruence of childhood diagnosis among transgender adults who were labeled due to their gender identity since childhood. Arch Sex Behav. 2018;47(8):2363-74. doi: 10.1007/s10508-018-1241-4.
- Fallahtafti E, Nasehi M, Rasuli R, Farhud D, Pourebrahim T, Zareeeimahmoodabadi H. Happiness and mental health in pre-operative and post-operative transsexual people. Iran J Public Health. 2019;48(12):2277-84.
- Singh D, Bradley SJ, Zucker KJ. A follow-up study of boys with gender identity disorder. Front Psychiatry. 2021;12:632784. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.632784.
- Nasehi AA, Raisi F, Ghaeli P, Amini M, Yahyavi ST, Arabkheradmand J, et al. Prevalence of sexual dysfunction among general population of Iran: a systematic review. Iran J Psychiatry Behav Sci. 2017;11(4):e7643. doi: 10.5812/ ijpbs.7643.
- Mirzaei HR, Samadi Rad A, Majidi Parast S. Study of the psychosocial outcomes of being transsexual in Iran. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2019;8(1):57-67. [Persian].
- Alizadegani F, Akhavan Tafti M, Kadkhodaie MS. Identification of the causes of teenagers’ attitude towards high-risk behaviors and examining gender differences: a qualitative study in Tehran. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2019;8(2):86-97. [Persian].
- Bakhshi N, Khormaei F. Parent’s challenges in sexual education of their children: a qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2020;7(3):227-39. [Persian].
- Grover S, Shouan A. Assessment scales for sexual disorders—a review. J Psychosexual Health. 2020;2(2):121-38. doi: 10.1177/2631831820919581.
- Rahmani A, Merghati-Khoei E, Moghadam-Banaem L, Sadeghi N. How the lack of social support affects young women’s risky sexual behaviors? A qualitative study. J Qual Res Health Sci. 2020;6(1):49-62. [Persian].
- Hejazi A, Edalati Shateri Z, Mostafavi SS, Hosseini ZS, Razaghian M, Mogaddam M. A preliminary analysis of the 12 transsexual patients with regards to their adaptation in means of role and gender identity after a sexual reassignment surgery. Sci J Kurdistan Univ Med Sci. 2009;13(4):78-87. [Persian].
- Rezapour Faridian R, Rasouli R, Mostafa V. Comparison of perceived social support and life satisfaction in patients with gender dysphoria. J Appl Sociol. 2018;29(3):87-100. doi: 10.22108/jas.2018.100069.0. [Persian].
- Corbin J, Strauss A. Basics of Qualitative Research: Techniques and Procedures for Developing Grounded Theory. SAGE Publications; 2014.
- Lincoln YS, Lynham SA, Guba EG. Paradigmatic controversies, contradictions, and emerging confluences, revisited. In: The Sage Handbook of Qualitative Research. SAGE Publications; 2011. p. 97-128.
- American Psychological Association (APA). APA Resolution on Sexual Orientation Change Efforts. APA; 2021. p. 1-14.
- World Health Organization (WHO). Global Health Sector Strategy on Sexually Transmitted Infections, 2016-2021: Toward Ending STIs. WHO; 2016.
- Tankersley AP, Grafsky EL, Dike J, Jones RT. Risk and resilience factors for mental health among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth: a systematic review. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev. 2021;24(2):183-206. doi: 10.1007/s10567-021-00344-6.
)