title: 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.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Catharina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Schneider
authors.affiliation: Department of Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cerwenka
authors.affiliation: Department of Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Timo O
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Nieder
authors.affiliation: Department of Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Peer
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Briken
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Peggy T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Cohen-Kettenis
authors.affiliation: Department of Sexology and Gender Problems, University Hospital Ghent, Ghent, Belgium.
authors.forename: Griet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: De Cuypere
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry and Psychosomatic Medicine, Rikshospitalet Oslo, Oslo, Norway.
authors.forename: Ira R
authors.initials: IR
authors.lastname: Haraldsen
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Psychology, VU University Medical Center Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Baudewijntje P C
authors.initials: BP
authors.lastname: Kreukels
authors.affiliation: Department of Sex Research and Forensic Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Martinistrasse 52, 20246, Hamburg, Germany. hrichter@uke.de.
authors.forename: Hertha
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Richter-Appelt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder; D005260:Female; D000068116:Gender Dysphoria / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005783:Gender Identity; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014189:Transsexualism; D044465:White People; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: DSM-5; Gender Identity/Gender Dysphoria Questionnaire for Adolescents and Adults; Gender dysphoria; Transsexualism; Utrecht Gender Dysphoria Scale