Recommendations of the Polish Sexological Society on medical care in transgender adults - position statement of the expert panel.

Attempts at unifying the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures for transgender individuals experiencing gender dysphoria were first undertaken in Poland in the 1980s. Since then, there has been a change in the perception of transgenderism, almost paradigmatic, expressed in subsequent editions of the diagnostic systems (DSM, ICD), which is also associated with the fundamental changes in the principles of conducting trans-specific healthcare. This triggered the need to formulate recommendations for specialists practicing in Poland, which would at least partly reflect the evolution of views and guidelines on clinical care in transgender adults seeking help due to gender dysphoria.

[Changes in body image satisfaction, sense of coherence and life satisfaction during the therapy of women with transsexualism. A preliminary report].

Aim: Assessment of body image satisfaction, sense of coherence and life satisfaction during the therapy of women with transsexualism.

Methods: 27 women with transsexualism (before therapy--9; in therapy but before surgery--7; after surgery--11), in different stages of therapy and 15 women and 15 men from the control group participated in the study. The Body Image Scale, the Sense of Coherence- SOC 29 and Satisfaction with Life Scale-- SWLS.

Masculinity, femininity, and transsexualism.

This study examined the relationship between sex role and gender identity in a Polish transsexual population where, unlike in Western countries, male-to-female (MF) transsexualism is much less common than female-to-male (FM) transsexualism. One hundred and three FM (82 primary, 21 secondary) and 29 MF (16 primary, 13 secondary) transsexuals plus 135 control males (CM) and 303 control females (CF) completed a Sex Role Inventory, which measures sex-role identification, that is, the degree to which one self-identifies with masculine and feminine characteristics. Data obtained from primary transsexuals revealed that, on a femininity scale, MF transsexuals scores exceeded not only CM but also CF.

Transsexualism and sex-related differences in hemispheric asymmetry.

Sex differences in human brain lateralization are documented by studies on normal subjects, patients with the unilateral brain damage, and individuals with atypical level of hormones. However, there is no agreement as to the specific role of gender in the development of hemispheric asymmetry. This experiment was designed to examine whether gender identity plays an important role in the formation of brain lateralization, as some recent data seem to suggest.

Sexual activity and temperament in Polish transsexuals.

Two groups of 23 female-to-male and 14 male-to-female transsexuals were compared to a representative sample of Polish controls along following dimensions: (i) temperamental features including reactivity and mobility of nervous processes, as measured by Strelau's Temperament Inventory; and (ii) patterns of sexual activity, measured with Dulko's Questionnaire for Measurement of Transsexualism. Transsexuals were found to resemble respective controls on temperamental dimensions according to their sense of gender identity and not their somatic sex. Male-to-female transsexuals were more similar to control females than to control males and the reverse was true for female-to-male subjects.

A nonspecific disturbance of the gonadostat in women with transsexualism and isolated hypergonadotropism in the male-to-female disturbance of gender identity.

Principal parameters of gonadostat function were determined in 15 female-to-male (F-M) and 7 male-to-female (M-F) transsexual patients (T), all homosexuals. The data were compared with normal heterosexual controls of the respective sex. Anamnesis revealed prolongation of the menstrual cycles in F-M patients, mainly in those taking previously medication with depot-testosterone.