Changes in patients with gender-identity problems after parental death.

The authors studied the incidence of parental loss among 163 gender-disordered patients and an equal number of psychiatric control patients. An unusually high number of gender-disordered patients had lost their fathers, particularly during adolescence and early adulthood. Many of these patients showed shifts in gender identity in the year after loss, and during that period many requested surgical sex reassignment for the first time. Changes in the patient's relationship with the remaining parent and experiences related to loss of the father are discussed.