ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: More and more frequently, the registration of life satisfaction is being used to evaluate different medical treatments. So far, there have been only few such surveys on transsexuals (TS). Therefore, the aim of this study was to evaluate the general and the health-related life satisfaction of transsexuals after gender transformation operations. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty patients took part in this German cross-sectional study. The Questions on Life Satisfaction Module (FLZ) and free questions on different aspects of the new gender identity were used as measuring instruments. RESULTS: Of the TS studied, 85-95% were "very satisfied" or "satisfied" with the results of their gender transformation operation in respect to gender identity. The TS were significantly less satisfied (P>0.001) in overall "general life satisfaction" than the general population. In overall FLZ scores for "health-related life satisfaction", no differences were seen. CONCLUSION: These data indicate a discrepancy between subjective satisfaction with new gender identity and current life situation, and they identify problems with life satisfaction.
Subject(s)
Disorders of Sex Development , Gender Identity , Postoperative Complications/psychology , Quality of Life/psychology , Transsexualism/surgery , Adult , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Health Status Indicators , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Patient Satisfaction , Socioeconomic Factors , Transsexualism/psychologySubject(s)
Information Services , Outcome Assessment, Health Care/statistics & numerical data , Surgical Procedures, Operative/standards , Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. , Cholecystectomy, Laparoscopic/standards , Hip Prosthesis/standards , Humans , Laminectomy/standards , Male , Pilot Projects , Program Development , Prostatectomy/standards , Societies, Medical , Surgical Procedures, Operative/economics , Surgical Procedures, Operative/statistics & numerical data , United StatesSubject(s)
Anxiety/therapy , Behavior Therapy , Assertiveness , Female , Humans , Male , Sleep Wake Disorders/etiology , Sleep Wake Disorders/therapyABSTRACT
Two successive experiments were conducted resulting from observations of the stability (resistance to extinction) of avoidance reactions and the manifestation of such reactions beyond the specific avoidance conditions in which they were acquired: a) 15 subjects were set the task to avoid an aversive acoustic stimulus for a helpless experimental partner. They could achieve this by reacting with contraction of either the forearm or the calf muscles in a difficult discrimination task. The stability of these avoidance reactions was assessed on different levels of forced extinction. Measures taken were HR, GSR and EMG of the avoidance reactions. Specific courses of the two autonomous measures evolved (Fig. 1,2). 14 of the 15 experimental subjects showed the avoidance behaviour during all phases of forced extinction. b) Six weeks after the experimental subjects had acquired the motor avoidance reactions all subjects were exposed to a relatively unspecific stress situation. Comparisons between experimental and control group (which consisted of the experimental partners) showed a tendency but not a significant difference as far as the reaction of the calf muscles was concerned. Contraction of the forearm muscles, however, occurred significantly more often in the experimental group. The subjects executed these reactions without being aware of it.
