A study of pre- and postsurgical transsexuals: MMPI characteristics

This study examines assessment issues concerning transsexualism through the use of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). The MMPI was administered to 20 transsexuals matched within sex on age and education: five presurgical male-to-females, five postsurgical male-to-females, five presurgical female-to-males, and five postsurgical female-to-males. Mean T scores for each of these four subsamples were examined in comparison to normative groups. Comparisons among the four subsamples showed significant differences in mean raw scores attributable to both sex and surgical status. The most striking of these comparisons indicated that postsurgical subjects had a higher level of psychological adjustment.