Document Type

Dissertation

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Psychology, Clinical-Community

Date of Defense

12-20-2017

Graduate Advisor

Zoe Peterson, Ph.D.

Committee

Ann Steffen, Ph.D.

Matthew Taylor, Ph.D.

Susan Kashubeck-West, Ph.D.

Abstract

Gender identity shapes the ways transgender adults experience themselves and relate to the world around them. Although research and theory suggest that gender identity is a multidimensional construct, most measures of gender identity have viewed gender as primarily a unitary construct tied to the gender binary. The aim of this study was to develop and validate the Multilayered Gender Identity Questionnaires (MGIQ), a set of measures of gender identity, in a sample of transgender adults. Qualitative data collected through focus groups with transgender adults (N = 7) helped refine and develop these measures. A series of analyses involving a larger sample of transgender adults (N = 521) established the factor structure of the MGIQ. The final MGIQ contained four scales corresponding to different gender identities (Trans, Nonbinary, Unassigned Gender, and Assigned Gender); each scale had three subscales representing the constructs of community, physical identity, and centrality. The current study demonstrated that the finalized MGIQ demonstrates internal consistency, convergent validity with identity labeling, social identification, and involvement in activism, and divergent validity from measures of gender role identification and psychological distress. The MGIQ also demonstrated incremental validity over an existing measure of gender identity in predicting social identification and involvement in activism. The clinical implications of this measure in conceptualization and treatment planning, as well as the types of research questions the MGIQ can be used to address, are also discussed.

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