Gender Congruence and Life Satisfaction Scale (Jones et al., 2024)

Items

Subscales

• Psychosocial Implications of Gender Distress, 14 Items
• Incongruence and Dysphoria related to Chest, 3 Items
• Life Satisfaction, 11 Items 
• Incongruence and Dysphoria related to Genitalia, 4 Items 
• Social Perceptions of Gender, 5 Items

Items by Subscale

Psychosocial Implications of Gender Distress

• I have avoided social situations and/or social interactions because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have not gone to school, college or work because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have not been able to have close relationships with other people (e.g. friends and family) because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have been unable to leave the house because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have found it difficult to make friends because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have felt that life is meaningless because I am distressed about my gender (R) 
• I have not enjoyed life because I am distressed about my gender (R) 
• I have not engaged in any of my usual hobbies because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have avoided basic hygiene practices such as showering or changing clothes because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have thought about cutting or hurting areas of my body because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have suffered from anxiety because I am distressed about my gender (†) (R) 
• I have suffered from low or depressed mood because I am distressed about my gender (R)
• I have felt that I do not belong in society because of my gender identity (R) 
• I have felt comfortable disclosing my gender identity to others 

Incogruence and Dysphoria related to Chest

• I have felt so distressed about my chest that I have not been able to have a fulfilling life (R)
• I have felt like my chest does not match my gender identity (R) 
• I have felt extremely distressed when looking at my chest (R) 

Life Satisfaction

• I have felt satisfied at school, college or work (†) 
• I have felt satisfied with my hobbies 
• I have felt satisfied with my friends 
• I have felt satisfied with the support I have received from my friends 
• I have felt satisfied with my general health 
• I have felt satisfied with life 
• I have felt satisfied with the relationship I have with my parents or caregivers 
• I have felt satisfied with the support I have received from my parents or caregivers
• I have felt satisfied with the pronouns that others use when talking about me
• I have felt satisfied with the pronouns that others use when talking to me 
• I have felt that there are aspects of my life in which I can present my gender authentically (e.g. at school, at work, at home)

Incongruence and Dysphoria related to Genitalia

• I have felt distressed when touching my genitals as they do not match my gender identity (R)
• I have felt unhappy about my genitalia since they do not match my gender identity (R)
• I have been unable to have a fulfilling life because of the distress relating to my genitalia (R)
• I have felt extremely distressed when looking at my genitals (R)

Social Perceptions of Gender

•  I have felt that my body hair conflicts with my gender identity, either because I have it and do not like it or because I would like to have it (R)
• I have felt that my voice has affected the way other people have perceived my gender identity, which has been distressing for me (R)
•  I have felt that my facial hair conflicts with my gender identity, either because I have it and do not like it or because I would like to have it (R)
• I have felt that other people close to me (e.g. friends and family) do not understand my gender identity (†) (R)
•  I have felt comfortable with how others have perceived my gender 
• I have found it distressing that others do not address me according to my gender identity (†) (R)

Notes

• (R) indicates reverse-scored items.
• (†) indicates items that cross-load onto more than one factor. 

Scoring

“Higher scores on the measure reflected greater gender congruence and life satisfaction. Scores were calculated by creating a mean score for each participant” (Jones et al., 2024)

Citations

Bethany A. Jones, Alisha. L. Nguyen, Gina M. Sequeira, Shane D. Morrison & Liam Cahill (02 Sep 2024): The gender congruence and life satisfaction scale for transgender and gender-diverse youth (GCLS-Y): a validation study with samples from the UK and US, International Journal of Transgender Health, DOI: 10.1080/26895269.2024.2397720