Comparing Image of God and Life Regard in Individuals with Gender Identity Disorder after Sex Change Surgery with Those of Their Counterparts before the Surgery

Research shows individuals' Life Regard and God image can be effective in preventing the vulnerability to physical and mental consequences of psychological disorder. The purpose of this study was to compare the God image and Life Regard in transsexual individuals after sex change surgery with those of their counterparts before the surgery. The general design of the study was descriptive and correlational. Sixty five individuals with gender identity disorder were selected from among transsexual individuals in Iran using snowball sampling. Some of the participants had undergone sex surgery, while others had not. God Insight Scale and Life Regard Index were administered among the individuals. All ethical issues were observed in this study and the researchers declared no conflict of interests. The results of data analysis showed that transsexuals who had changed their sex received significantly higher scores in the God image Scale and the Life regard Index. Also, there were significant differences between the two groups in terms of the sub-scale mean scores. However, there was no measurable discrepancy between the scores of two groups with respect to their gender and educational level. Working on individuals' God image and life regard can modify some maintenance and resonator factors of gender identity disorder and can be effective in their treatment.