Abstract
Body dissatisfaction in individuals with Gender Incongruence (GI) represents a primary source of suffering. Several studies have highlighted how this suffering has psychological, physical, and biological implications. This work aims to explore experiences related to body dissatisfaction and investigate the issues associated with living in a body perceived as incongruent for individuals with GI. Thirty-six individuals, aged between 18 and 30 years old and at stage T0 of hormone treatment, participated in the study. Body dissatisfaction and experiences related to it were investigated using the Clinical Diagnostic Interview. The Consensual Qualitative Research methodology was applied to the transcripts of the interviews. Several themes emerged: experiences with GI development, experiences with puberty and bodily changes, perception of one’s body, psychological problems and complex behavioral patterns related to body dissatisfaction. Results pointed out the complexity implied in the relationship with one’s body for individuals with GI, highlighting specific aspects of body dissatisfaction among these individuals (e.g., eating disorders, sexual difficulties, social withdrawal). This study underlines the need for a deeper understanding of some aspects of GI to better define guidelines for a correct assessment of it. In this way it will be easier to avoid negative outcomes for the psychological and general health of transgender people.
Highlights
Body dissatisfaction consists of a negative evaluation of one’s appearance, and it is considered the core aspect of uneasiness in individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) [1]
Two different population studies [8,9] conducted among individuals with gender incongruence (GI), cisgender people whose sex assigned at birth is aligned with their gender identity [10] and individuals with disordered eating behaviors, pointed out that individuals with GI show higher rates of disordered eating patterns and body dissatisfaction than cisgender people, but less than individuals with eating disorders
The first two domains are related to body dissatisfaction and lack of self-acceptance and are both included in the area defined as ‘gender identity: self-perception’
Summary
Body dissatisfaction consists of a negative evaluation of one’s appearance, and it is considered the core aspect of uneasiness in individuals with gender dysphoria (GD) [1]. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) [2] defines GD as a marked incongruence between the individual’s perceived gender identity and the gender assigned at birth Such incongruence is associated with clinically significant distress or impairment in important areas of functioning [2]. Some case report studies have discussed disordered eating behaviors in adults [11,12,13,14,15] and youths [16,17,18,19,20] with GI, ascribing body dissatisfaction related to GI as one of the core aspects of the co-occurrence between these two conditions Such studies considered eating disorder behaviors (e.g., food avoidance and extreme weight loss) as symptoms of inner conflict and a dysfunctional coping strategy adopted to avoid unwanted pubertal changes. Some other studies [30,31,32] have pointed out the need to consider this phenomenon from a qualitative perspective as well
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