Social Factors Affecting the Rate of Gender Identity Disorder

This study has tried to investigate the levels of “gender identity disorder” and the social causes which may influence it. The research was carried out using a survey study. The population was composed of the clients suffering from gender identity disorder in the state welfare organization of Khorasan Razavi province and Social Emergency Center of Shahid Navab Safavi in Tehran. The sample, according to Cochran formula, was composed of 160 respondents. They were chosen through a simple random sampling method out the lists of clients of the two centers. The data were collected by using questionnaires. The study results showed that the gender identity disorder rate (denial of sexual identity) among these individuals was significantly high. The average disorder rate (ranging from 1-5) was 4.76. The variables of "satisfaction through social interaction with peers" and "winning social approval among peers of one’s gender" had a significant but reverse effect on gender identity disorder, while the variables "impaired socialization", "internalization disorder", "the rate of imitation from the behaviors of the opposite sex" and "social label of the opposite sex received from others" had a direct effect on gender identity disorder.