Effectiveness of Life Skills Training on the Quality of Life in Individuals with Gender Identity Disorder

Abstract

Background: Gender identity disorder (GID) is a rare condition which is specified by an incompatibility between gender identity and biological sex. Individuals with GID are more prone to psychological problems containing de- pression and low self-confidence. Objectives: The aim of the present study is to evaluate the effect of life skill training on the quality of life of individuals with GID. Methods: 30 individuals who referred to Tehran welfare cen- ter during November 2011 to August 2012 were selected by available sampling procedure and randomly divided to experimental or control groups. Pretest and posttest using WHOQOL-BREF was performed before and after training for both experimental and control groups. Data were analyzed using spss version 18. Two groups were compared using independent t-test. Results: Values were significant at P < 0.05. Quality of life has been signifi- cantly increased in study group under the training of skills training in compare with control group (P < 0.001). Con- clusion: In conclusion life skills training can be considered to be an important component of psychosocial support programs for people with gender identity disorder and promote and improve the quality of life of individuals.