Validation of the Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale (GCLS) among the Finnish population—implementing a tool to measure outcomes for transgender health services

Puustinen, N, Salmenkivi, M, Kettula, K, Jones, BA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8872-5847 and Tuisku, K, 2024. Validation of the Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale (GCLS) among the Finnish population—implementing a tool to measure outcomes for transgender health services. International Journal of Transgender Health. ISSN 2689-5269

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Abstract

Background: Validated tools that can measure changes in gender dysphoria and are inclusive of all gender identities are needed. To date, there are no such tools that have been validated using the Finnish population. The aim was to perform a cross-cultural validation of the Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale (GCLS).

Method: Data from the prospective 2019–2020 Helsinki Gender Identity Cohort (N = 773) were used to validate the GCLS for the Finnish population. The cohort individuals were asked to complete the GCLS and other validated psychological questionnaires as part of their clinical assessment and this register-based data were used. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and Principal component analysis (PCA) were performed on the data to assess the factor structure of the GCLS in the Finnish cohort. Convergent validity of the GCLS was also evaluated.

Results: The CFA did not show adequate fit and therefore PCA was conducted. The PCA recommended seven subscales with good internal consistency. Four factors related to gender congruence (genitalia, chest, social gender role recognition, other secondary sex characteristics), and three related to secondary outcomes (psychological well-being, social avoidance, and life satisfaction). The final three subscales factorized in a slightly different way in the Finnish cohort, compared to the seminal English validation of the GCLS. The correlation analysis showed good convergent validity of the factors retrieved by the PCA.

Conclusion: The results show that the GCLS scale is a valid tool to measure dysphoria related to genitalia, chest, secondary sex characteristics, and social gender role recognition for the Finnish population.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	International Journal of Transgender Health
Creators:	Puustinen, N., Salmenkivi, M., Kettula, K., Jones, B.A. and Tuisku, K.
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Date:	26 September 2024
ISSN:	2689-5269
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1080/26895269.2024.2407626 DOI 2255927 Other
Rights:	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Transgender Health on 26 September 2024, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2407626
Divisions:	Schools > School of Social Sciences
Record created by:	Jonathan Gallacher
Date Added:	17 Oct 2024 10:39
Last Modified:	17 Oct 2024 10:39
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52433

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