Gender Identity Disorder and Improvement of Life Satisfaction and Psychological Well-being Indices After Sex Reassignment Surgery: A Multicenter Prospective Cohort Study

Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) is a surgery performed to reassign the physical gender identity of transgender people. Despite the physical consequences of this surgery, research has indicated its significant effects on patients’ mental health; however, the findings are contradictory. This study determined the effects of sexual reassignment surgery on life satisfaction and psychological well-being in transgender people. 

In a multicenter prospective cohort study, from January to March 2019, a total of 40 patients with sexual dysphoria of both sexes were selected using the purposive sampling method and after meeting the necessary criteria, they were entered into the research process. Patients were placed in one of two groups of gender reassignment surgery and the surgery waiting list. Life satisfaction and psychological well-being indices were evaluated in the surgery group, before and after surgery (one week to one month and more than six months). Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance test in SPSS software, version 21, and the significance criterion was considered as 0.05. 

Data analysis showed that the life satisfaction index in patients undergoing gender reassignment surgery had a significant difference as compared to the waiting list (P<0.001). Also, the six components of psychological well-being, including self-acceptance, positive relationship with others, personal growth, independence, purposeful life, and mastery of the environment in patients undergoing sexual reassignment surgery showed a significant improvement compared to the waiting list (P<0.001). 

Sexual reassignment surgery has significant psychological effects on patients’ psychological characteristics. These findings may be associated with clinical applications in designing complementary psychological interventions in transgender individuals.