Abstract
Transgender women are an important subgroup of the transgender umbrella and have their own unique gender identity. This article aimed to understand and measure the latent concept of gender identity among Chinese transgender women from a multi-dimensional perspective. Through a two-phase, iterative scale development process, we developed the Gender Identity Scale for Transgender Women (GIS-TW) in Chinese. Literature reviews, expert consultations, and focus groups constitute phrase 1 of the study, which resulted in the first version of GIS-TW with 30 items. In phrase 2, exploratory factor analysis on a sample of 244 Chinese transgender women revealed a six-factor solution across the 22 items. The Bem Sex Role Inventory was included to test for convergent validity, and the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was used to test discriminant validity. Then we conducted the confirmatory factor analysis with an independent sample of 420 Chinese transgender women, which produced the final version of GIS-TW with 21 items. The internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.71–0.87) and test-retest stability (r = 0.73–0.87) of each factor was good. In conclusion, the GIS-TW is a reliable and valid psychometric tool for the assessment of Chinese transgender women’s gender identity. Future application of the scale will help transgender women obtain better gender confirmative interventions.
Highlights
Transgender is an umbrella term typically used to describe individuals whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth and/or their gender identity is outside the limits of the sex binary (Kozee et al, 2012)
The identity of transgender women should not be measured through a single dimension, because gender identity includes both individual and social aspects, and it has an inseparable relationship with sexual experience
We have developed the Gender Identity Scale for Transgender Women (GIS-TW) Chinese version and conducted a preliminary psychometric evaluation to ensure the scale measured the gender identity of transgender women from different aspects, and the scale can be applied to clinical practice and screening for level of gender dysphoria, as well as for researchers
Summary
Transgender is an umbrella term typically used to describe individuals whose gender identity is different from their sex assigned at birth and/or their gender identity is outside the limits of the sex binary (Kozee et al, 2012). The researchers drew from a broad range of theoretical frameworks, previous research, and clinical experiences to develop and test the GIS-TW Chinese version of the scale. In this current study, we aimed to understand and measure the latent concept of gender identity among transgender women from a multidimensional perspective. A multi-dimensional perspective allowed for scale items to be developed that understand the support required for a needs assessment by transgender health services who are providing gender-affirming medical interventions, including hormone treatment and surgery, as well as providing clinicians with a measurement to screen for the distress that may be experienced by transgender women (Reisner et al, 2015)
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