Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2016 Aug;13(8):1270-8.
doi: 10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.05.009. Epub 2016 Jun 17.

Gender Dysphoria and Social Anxiety: An Exploratory Study in Spain

Trinidad Bergero-Miguel  1 , María A García-Encinas  2 , Amelia Villena-Jimena  2 , Lucía Pérez-Costillas  3 , Nicolás Sánchez-Álvarez  2 , Yolanda de Diego-Otero  4 , Jose Guzman-Parra  5
Affiliations

Gender Dysphoria and Social Anxiety: An Exploratory Study in Spain

Trinidad Bergero-Miguel et al. J Sex Med. 2016 Aug.

Abstract

Introduction: Social anxiety in gender dysphoria is still under investigation.

Aim: To determine the prevalence and associated factors of social anxiety in a sample of individuals with gender dysphoria.

Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in a clinical sample attending a public gender identity unit in Spain. The sample consisted of 210 individuals (48% trans female and 52% trans male).

Main outcome measures: Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) for diagnosis of social anxiety disorder, Structured Clinical Interview, Exposure to Violence Questionnaire (EVQ), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and Functional Social Support Questionnaire (Duke-UNC-11).

Results: Of the total sample, 31.4% had social anxiety disorder. Social anxiety disorder was highly correlated with age (r = -0.181; CI = 0.061-0.264; P = .009) and depression (r = 0.345; CI = 0.213-0.468; P < .001); it is strongly associated to current cannabis use (relative risk [RR] = 1.251; CI = 1.070-1.463; P = .001) and lifetime suicidal ideation (RR = 1.902; CI 1.286-2.814; P < .001). Moreover, it is significantly associated to lifetime nonsuicidal self-injury (RR = 1.188; CI 1.018-1.386; P = .011), nationality (RR = 7.792; CI 1.059-57.392; P = .013), perceived violence at school during childhood and adolescence (r = 0.169; CI = 0.036-0.303; P = .014), unemployment (RR = 1.333; CI 1.02-1.742; P = .021), and hospitalization of parents in childhood (RR = 1.146; CI = 1.003-4.419; P = .046). Using multivariable analysis, the highly significant variables within the model were depression score (odds ratio [OR] = 1.083; CI = 1.045-1.123; P < .001) and current cannabis use (OR = 3.873; CI = 1.534-9.779, P = .004), also age (OR = 0.948; CI = 0.909-0.989; P = .012), hospitalization of parents during childhood (OR = 2.618; CI = 1.107-6.189; P = .028), and nationality (OR = 9.427; CI = 1.065-83.457; P = .044) were associated with social anxiety disorder.

Conclusion: This study highlights the necessity of implementing actions to prevent and treat social anxiety in this high-risk population.

Keywords: Social Anxiety; Social Phobia; Transgender; Transsexuals; Victimization.

PubMed Disclaimer

MeSH terms