Social assessment of transsexuals who apply for sex reassignment therapy.

A social worker member of the gender identity team of a Psychiatry Department is responsible for the social assessment of the transsexual who applies for sex reassignment surgery. This paper synthesizes the dynamics and processes in conducting the social assessment for eight male-to-female transsexuals from 1986 to April 1988. Role theory was used as the underlying theoretical framework for the assessment. Social criteria for the eligibility of the surgery are delineated. Three cases demonstrate how the social worker used these criteria for the assessment, the difficulties in the process and ways of resolving them.