Are transgender people satisfied with their lives?

BACKGROUND: Our goal was to examine the proportion of transgender people satisfied with their lives (i.e., cognitive evaluation of life as a whole) and the determinants of life satisfaction level among transgender individuals. METHODS: Data were taken from the HH-TPCHIGV study. Included were 104 transgender people who had joined self-help groups to get and share information about the gender-affirming surgeries performed at the Division of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. The established Satisfaction with Life Scale was used to quantify life satisfaction. Sociodemographic-, lifestyle-related and health-related determinants were included in multiple linear regressions. In regression analysis, life satisfaction served as outcome measure and in a robustness check ordered probit regressions were used. RESULTS: Among transgender people, 12.9% can be classified as “extremely dissatisfied”, 18.3% can be classified as “dissatisfied”, 12.9% can be classified as “slightly dissatisfied”, 7.5% as “neutral”, 30.1% as “slightly satisfied”, 17.2% as “satisfied” and 1.1% as “extremely satisfied”. Higher levels of life satisfaction were associated with higher age (β = .15, p < .05), higher school education (β = 5.54, p < .001), and favorable self-rated health (β = 2.20, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Nearly half of the transgender people were at least “satisfied” with their lives. Knowledge about the correlates of life satisfaction may assist in addressing unsatisfied individuals. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-15831-4.