Comparison of Depression, Suicidal Ideation and Social Support between Transsexual People with and without Gender Change

Social acceptance of people with sexual identity disorder in society is very difficult and these conditions can lead to depression and suicidal ideation. On the other hand, social support has a great influence on the psychological factors of these people. The aim of this study was to compare the depression, suicidal ideation, and social support between transsexuals with and without gender change.
Instruments & This causal-comparative study was carried out on 60 transsexuals with (N=30) and without gender change (N=30) of the association for the protection of Iran gender dysphoric patients in 2018. The subjects were selected using the convenience sampling method and they completed the questionnaires of the Beck depression inventory, Beck suicidal ideations, and Sherbourne and Stewart social support. Data were analyzed by SPSS 24 software through the multivariate analysis of variance test.
The mean scores of depression and suicidal ideations variables in the transsexual group without gender change were higher than the transsexual group with gender change, but the mean score of social support variable in the transsexual group with gender change was higher than another group. There was a significant difference between the two groups regarding the variables of suicidal ideation and social support (p=0.01), but there was no significant difference between the two groups in terms of depression variable (p>0.05).
The depression and suicidal ideations are in the moderate range in both transsexual groups, with and without gender change, but there were more suicidal ideations in the transsexuals without gender change, as well as the transsexuals with gender change are more likely to seek social support.