The Relationship Between Gender-Affirming Procedures, Body Image Quality of Life, and Gender Affirmation

• DOI: 10.1089/trgh.2021.0081
• Publication Date: 2022-02-10T17:39:48Z
• Authors: Patrick J. Kelly; Paul A. D'Avanzo; Adrian Shanker; Katie Suppes; Anne S. Frankel; David B. Sarwer
• Keywords: 03 medical and health sciences; 5. Gender equality; 0305 other medical science; 3. Good health

This study explored whether self-reported barriers to accessing a health care provider, gender-affirming procedures, and relevant psychosocial measures were related to experienced gender affirmation in a cross-sectional sample of trans individuals (N=101). Body image quality of life [b=0.181, t(4.277), p<0.001] and the number of gender-affirming procedures [b=0.084, t(2.904), p=0.005] were significant predictors of transgender congruence, a measure of gender affirmation, and accounted for 40% of the adjusted variance in transgender congruence scores F(2, 89)=31.363, p<0.001, R2=0.413. Results suggest that experiencing a barrier to gender-affirming health care is associated with anticipation of discrimination and provides further evidence that gender-affirming health care is associated with positive psychosocial outcomes.