Transsexualism and Slater's Selective Vocabulary Test.

It has been shown elsewhere that transsexual males use a vocabulary which differs from that of normal males. This could be demonstrated by Slater's Selective Vocabulary Test. This test was administered to 56 male transsexuals and the 'd' score - a device to eliminate the influence of I.Q. - was calculated. The normal d score for males is zero and the higher the score the greater is the degree of femininity. An attempt was made to find factors which facilitate this abnormal development of the vocabulary in male transsexuals. In order to do this the cases were divided into a group of high and a group of low 'd' scores, and tested for correlations with a number of factors which seemed likely to influence the vocabulary development. No such correlations could be established.

Partnership in transsexualism. Part I. Paired and nonpaired groups.

In a group of 72 transsexuals, 26 out of 55 male-to-female transsexuals had partners and 9 out of 17 female-to-male transsexuals had partners. Forty percent of the group of 35 paired transsexuals had been married, but most of these marriages had ended in divorce or separation. Six male patients were still married at the time of the enquiry. The two groups differed significantly in several respects. Those with partners (the paired group) had more fathers or heads of family in social classes I-III, while those without partners (the nonpaired group) were more often without their father in the first decade of life. Significantly more of the paired group received psychiatrists' rating of stable social adjustment. There was a tendency for the paired group to have a more successful employment history since leaving school and to change their National Insurance cards more often in order to obtain employment in their adopted gender. The groups did not differ in the amount of social drift, self-confessed criminal behavior, age at referral, history of prostitution, or incidence of rejecting parents. There were also no significant differences on the following psychological tests: Wechsler Bellevue, Progressive Matrices, Mill Hill Vocabulary Scale, Maudsley Personality Inventory, Slater Selective Vocabulary--except that the nonpaired group knew fewer male words. Any differences between the two groups are perhaps best described in terms of social adjustment rather than any background social factors, personality, or clinical differences.

Partnership in transsexualism. Part II. The nature of the partnership.

Thirty-five partners were identified in a group of 72 transsexuals. Six male-to-female transsexuals continued to live with their marriage partner, but the remainder of the total group cohabited with a member of the same biological sex. Two of the female-to-male transsexuals had undergone a marriage ceremony with their present partner, but the remainder had not. In most cases the social class of the partner was the same as that of the transsexual. In one case two transsexuals were living together, and this case and three others out of a total of six who were interviewed are described in more detail. The partnerships described support the view that transsexualism is best regarded as an overvalued idea which may be accepted or shared by a partner. The extent to which the idea is shared is related to the bond of affection between the partners, the pattern of dominance between them, and the sexual needs of the partner.

EEG abnormalities and transsexualism.

A consecutive series of 46 transsexuals, 35 men and 11 women, showed EEG abnormalities in 48 per cent and borderline abnormalities in another 24 per cent. Women showed the abnormalities in a significantly higher proportion than men. Those with the EEG abnormalities were slightly younger at inception, suggesting that they sought help at an earlier age, and their transsexualism became obvious to their families earlier. Those with personality disorders had EEG abnormalities more frequently, but not significantly so. This group of transsexual patients seemed to have a low sex drive, and those with abnormal EEGs even more so; but again the differences were not significant. The possible significance of these findings for the understanding of transsexualism is discussed.

Verbal tests and transsexualism.

Gender discriminating vocabulary tests administered to a consecutive series of 53 male transsexuals show different results. The Slater Selective Vocabulary Test, Cohen's factors and the Terman-Miles Attitude Interest Analysis Test (M-F) show male transsexuals to have a higher degree of feminization than normal controls. The Wechsler-Bellevue Vocabulary Test and the Wechsler M-F Test are difficult to interpret, and do not show a clear trend of feminization in transsexual males. The investigation has shown that male transsexuals have a vocabulary which differs from that of normal males in the direction of greater feminization.

Verbal characteristics of male and female transsexuals.

Slater's Selective Vocabulary Test was given to a group of 56 male and a group of 14 female transsexuals and the results were compared with those of 15-year-old boys and girls, and a group of normal male adults. It was found that whereas normal males and females have a ratio of gender appropriate words to cross gender words of approximately 2 to 1, in both male and female transsexuals that ratio is more like 1 to 1. The way in which this abnormal vocabulary acquisition may come about is briefly discussed. The factors related to this abnormal learning are not known.

A male MZ twin pair, concordant for transsexualism, discordant for schizophrenia.

A pair of male monozygous twins of gynandromorphic habitus but normal male body hair and genitalia, who appear concordant for transsexualism and explosive personality disorder but discordant for schizophrenia, is presented. No evidence of specific family dynamic factors, imitative learning or folie a deux was found in the twins' history. A constitutional aetiology of their transsexualism and one twin's schizophrenia is suggested. The relationship between transsexualism and schizophrenia is briefly reviewed. No evidence can be found that the modal transsexual is suffering from a schizophrenic disorder, florid or attenuated. A more subtle relationship is possible of transsexualism occurring as a schizophrenic spectrum disorder. This twin pair appears to illustrate such a relationship.