Im trying to find any reputable resources that discuss personality changes due to hormones. Either that discusses how hormones have changed their root personality, not just emotions and empathy, or how they not change personality.

In addition to a referance, Id love to hear if anyone here has had their personaly changed, again not emotions, agressiveness, or libeto, but thoughts, actions, likes, dislikes.

I had look around for similar info, but was unable to find anything reputable..

I'm only 4.5 months in, but I'll share what I've noticed so far.. Overall, there have been very few major changes.. Well, more honestly, the general way I feel about things hasn't really changed, but sometimes the specifics have.. As an example, I've always been attracted to guys, but now the kind of guys that attract me are quite different.  Some changes have been a little bigger. I used to be ambivalent to the idea of having children, now when I see one I feel a little yearning..

By reputable do you mean scholarly and peer-reviewed?

If you want a resource, just go to YouTube and do a search for "transgender." There are a bunch of trans people on there that keep video blogs and many talk about every little change, both mentally and physically. Create an account so you can subscribe to them and keep up with what is going on and how they are changing.

unfortunately youtube, nor comments from actual trans people here would not be a source that would be accepted.

Well, your initial post is unclear. You want reputable but don't define what that means, and at the same time phrase it like you DO want personal accounts.

I ask again: Do you mean peer-reviewed, published, and scholarly?

I'm sorry.
What I'd like to find, that I don't think I will be able to find are, yes, published, scholarly papers that have done some sort of studies of the personality changes from the use of hormones, while understanding there would be the well understood lessened aggression and libeto for MTF and increased drive, increased aggression/competitiveness, etc for FTM.
Basically, not that I don't know the answer already, "Would someone on hormones become a different person."
I'm quite aware that we all here know that any "changes" we show, are nothing more than shedding the facade of the wrong gender, but that's not scientific proof.

Also, I want to apologize for the poor spelling when it's late, the computer I work on at night is not very easy to work on, especially when the keys are sticky and don't always register.

Quote from: _Jess_ on September 16, 2011, 07:38:15 AM
while understanding there would be the well understood lessened aggression and libeto for MTF and increased drive, increased aggression/competitiveness, etc for FTM.

This isn't true for everyone... the changes of hormones seem like a real mixed bag and each person gets something different.

The thing about personality is it is VERY hard to measure. You might be able to hit some of the big things (and they have, like possible change in attraction or possible 'calmness') but really it is vague and you miss a lot of stuff.

Combine this with there is a serious lack in basic studies on trans people (such as mortality or more clear health risks)... the chances they will try doing studies on such subtle and subjective things like personality is pretty nill (it just isn't at the top of the priority list of stuff they would study).

So, basically, the only way to learn about the personality changes is to try and piece it together yourself...directly from trans people. Heck, this is even how you need to piece together the physical changes! Like orgasms shifting to female on estrogen, I found absolutely nothing about this mentioned (And yet it seems it is common, same with interest in spicy foods)....

We are a very hard group to study still... they don't even know how many of us there are (the estimates range very widely)... because, well, they can't really find us when we go stealth and tracking us down is very difficult.

QuoteI'm quite aware that we all here know that any "changes" we show, are nothing more than shedding the facade of the wrong gender, but that's not scientific proof.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. I am noticing lots of little things (of which many I haven't tried to "gender" before).

Hormones are seeming to have a very real effect on the mind (beyond just the psychosomatic effects more gender polarized people might report).

Now we're getting somewhere, though it would be a bit more helpful if I knew what this is for.

Just going through my university's database using the word "transgender" as a search term, there are over 11,000 journal articles. When I limit it to "peer-reviewed," I get almost 6,000.

My area of expertise is criminology. If you are just looking for personality changes on hormones, there is a monumental amount of data with regards to testosterone and aggressive behavior as well as using estrogen (or SSRIs) on sexual offenders due to its effects on the internal chemical makeup of people who take it.

For example, you have a pedophile who voluntarily wishes to submit to chemical castration (or some form of hormone-based therapy). He gets the treatment and eventually loses interest in sex in general and kids in particular. To use your question, does this decreased sex drive make him a different person? Is he suddenly NOT a sexual offender because he no longer has the drive to commit those offenses? It seems that your question is more philosophical than scientific, and there are strong arguments to be made on both sides.

The problem with this area of study is that there are a billion different reactions to a million different chemicals, hormones, and environmental interactions that affect our mood and behavior, such as the size of the pre-frontal cortex to the levels of dopamine in the system to the amount of serotonin receptors. While many strong correlations can be made between hormones and behavior (strong enough that such therapy can be used as a condition of release for an offense), I do not believe there is anything definitive. I could be wrong, since my foray into this subject is strictly with regards to criminality.

My advice would be to find a college/university with an online journal database. If you're not a student, then you'll probably have to physically go there and see what their research policies are. Regular public libraries might do this, but I do not know.

No worries on the sticky non-registering keys. I have an Asus laptop and while it is the best computer I have ever owned, it seems that while designing this machine for gaming they forgot that someone might want to eventually type something 

Quote from: Rabbit on September 16, 2011, 08:16:24 AM
I wouldn't be so sure about that. I am noticing lots of little things (of which many I haven't tried to "gender" before).

Hormones are seeming to have a very real effect on the mind (beyond just the psychosomatic effects more gender polarized people might report).

I'm sorry, while rereading that, I chose my words poorly.
What I was trying to say was that for, what seems to be a fair number, the birth gender is a facade and because that is what is expressed, that our feminine attributes were buried or hidden because of whatever reason you'd like.
When we then accept being TG, and we allow our true gender to show then, in general, we'd shed the guise that we kept up for so long and allow our true feelings and persona to show.
This is of course, related to coming out/self acceptance, but not necessarily related to HRT.

Natasha, I haven't been near a university for 10 years.
But this is about what I was expecting, minimal, vague studies.
That's an interesting idea that removing a sex drive would "fix" sex offenders, and that would be a personality change. Sounds like something all prisons should be doing!
While looking around, have you seen anything that may discus specifically sexual orientation, sexual attractiveness, personal likes/dislikes as in hobbies, performance or capability in relation to mechanical, mathematical, or visual capabilities.
For example, if before someone liked gaming, then no longer does or favorite color was green before, but now is blue.

Personally, I don't see any changes other than the point of the chemicals. (lack of T, and addition of E)
Very interestingly I've been told that I'm speaking, moving, and siting/laying more femininely at times?
That's when I'm not even trying to be feminine at all, just sitting around the house.

Quote from: _Jess_ on September 16, 2011, 08:53:30 AM
Natasha, I haven't been near a university for 10 years.
But this is about what I was expecting, minimal, vague studies.
That's an interesting idea that removing a sex drive would "fix" sex offenders, and that would be a personality change. Sounds like something all prisons should be doing!
While looking around, have you seen anything that may discus specifically sexual orientation, sexual attractiveness, personal likes/dislikes as in hobbies, performance or capability in relation to mechanical, mathematical, or visual capabilities.
For example, if before someone liked gaming, then no longer does or favorite color was green before, but now is blue.

Personally, I don't see any changes other than the point of the chemicals. (lack of T, and addition of E)
Very interestingly I've been told that I'm speaking, moving, and siting/laying more femininely at times?
That's when I'm not even trying to be feminine at all, just sitting around the house.

I have not seen anything scholarly on the subjects you mentioned, but I have read and watched a bunch of testimonials that discuss it. Personally, I haven't been on hormones that long and am only on E. Other than an increased drive to exercise and get healthier as well as an increased appetite and higher metabolism, I haven't noticed any other changes.

People have noticed that I occasionally do feminine gestures when sitting/laying, etc, but they were unconscious behaviors and were happening before I started.

What is this for, exactly? i ask because there may be another way around it.

Well, I've only come out as TG recently to my wife. She's known that I've cross dressed for my entire life and that I've expressed how I'd love to trade bodies with her, but never connected my emotions/thoughts as TG.
Now that I've come out as TG, and have started to transition, shes concerned about a great deal of things, especially how hormones would effect me and change who she married. Now, I suppose that I should note that she does not actually know that I'm not them, nor is she at a point where she'd accept me doing something so large on my own.
I'm trying to show her that hormones do not change who I am without saying "Am I really that different from a year ago? No? Well, because I've been on them.". That would just be, well, quite a long miserable time afterwards. She's still trying to accept me as TG and I'm trying to find what her fears are and calm them so that I can continue to transition without hiding anything or lies.
Complex enough?

I was thinking you were doing your thesis on the subject. It's not really that complex of an issue considering where you are at (i.e. here on this site).

Studies on hormones and moods are all over the map. Personal testimonials, which again should suffice, are also all over the map. If you're going through HRT already and have been for a year, and have shown no changes, you're likely not going to change any more mentally. Physically, you will have more and more changes, but you can ask the doctor to structure your HRT regimen to allow you to remain functional down below and keep an actives sex drive. That alone might go a long way to convince her.

Everyone is different. People that are in marriages and love their significant others have more to think about, such as keeping body parts and maintaining an active relationship. It's a partnership and their feelings should be taken into consideration, at which point you seek ways to both get what you want.

Not to be crude about this, but it is relevant: My wife flat out stated "I like cock." Well, ok then. Given all of the problems associated with getting SRS and the amount of work involved, and adding into the equation that she didn't have any major problems with any of the other things like HRT, FFS, and general nips and tucks I would probably eventually want, it didn't seem like that big of a deal. If I was 15 again and did not have this life I have built up and was completely free of everything I have to think about now, I would feel differently about the situation, but life happens and all in all it's not that bad of a compromise. This is especially true when you're looking to STAY married and continue on with the same relationship you are in.

I suppose the main issue has to do with the dishonesty. I was up front with my wife before we even started dating. Everyone has issues, and this is mine, and this is what I want to do with it. It turned out that she didn't have a problem with it, and here we are. I have been completely open with her every step of the way with the exception of hiding some of the depression because I'm inherently an introvert, didn't want to bring her down, and didn't want to sound like a broken record with "yes, I'm depressed about this again and it was triggered this time when I saw that blonde/brunette/redhead we saw at the movies/book store/bank/mall." She went with me to my doctor appointments. Whatever works. We DO have bigger things to worry about, like making sure our teenage kids turn out to be productive and active-thinking members of society, gaining job security in jobs we actually enjoy doing, etc.

I would suggest seeking out people like you, then ask them more thorough questions on the subject.

Quote from: _Jess_ on September 16, 2011, 07:38:15 AM
I'm sorry.
What I'd like to find, that I don't think I will be able to find are, yes, published, scholarly papers that have done some sort of studies of the personality changes from the use of hormones, while understanding there would be the well understood lessened aggression and libeto for MTF and increased drive, increased aggression/competitiveness, etc for FTM.
Basically, not that I don't know the answer already, "Would someone on hormones become a different person."
I'm quite aware that we all here know that any "changes" we show, are nothing more than shedding the facade of the wrong gender, but that's not scientific proof.

Also, I want to apologize for the poor spelling when it's late, the computer I work on at night is not very easy to work on, especially when the keys are sticky and don't always register.

No changes in cognition, see below

Jen61

Psychiatry Res. 2005 Dec 15;137(3):161-74. Epub 2005 Nov 17.
Cross-sex hormone treatment does not change sex-sensitive cognitive performance in gender identity disorder patients.
Haraldsen IR, Egeland T, Haug E, Finset A, Opjordsmoen S.
SourceDepartment of Psychiatry, Ullevål University Hospital, University of Oslo, 0407 Oslo, Norway. i.h.haraldsen@psykiatri.uio.no

Abstract
Cognitive performance in untreated early onset gender identity disorder (GID) patients might correspond to their born sex and not to their perceived gender. As a current mode of intervention, cross-sex hormone treatment causes considerable physical changes in GID patients. We asked, as has been suggested, whether this treatment skews cognitive performance towards that of the acquired sex. Somatically healthy male and female early onset GID patients were neuropsychologically tested before, 3 and 12 months after initiating cross-sex hormone treatment, whereas untreated healthy subjects without GID served as controls (C). Performance was assessed by testing six cognitive abilities (perception, arithmetic, rotation, visualization, logic, and verbalization), and controlled for age, education, born sex, endocrine differences and treatment by means of repeated measures analysis of variance. GID patients and controls showed an identical time-dependent improvement in cognitive performance. The slopes were essentially parallel for males and females. There was no significant three-way interaction of born sex by group by time for the six investigated cognitive abilities. Only education and age significantly influenced this improvement. Despite the substantial somatic cross-sex changes in GID patients, no differential effect on cognition over time was found between C and GID participants. The cognitive performance of cross-sex hormone-treated GID patients was virtually identical to that of the control group. The documented test-retest effect should be taken into consideration when evaluating treatment effects generally in psychiatry.

I really want to thank you both. The PDF of the research paper is becoming interesting reading.
Id like to clearly comment later, but I thought Id drop a quick thank you for now.

Well, that was all very interesting, but she laid down the "nothing can ever convince me that hormones would not change you, ask any female".
Beyond that, she can never accept me as TG.
So, I guess that is that. The closet is comforting anyway. At least Im at peace with myself.

She is kind of right... you don't know how much hormones are going to change you.

But the thing is she seems to be viewing any change as a negative thing (people often are afraid of change). The changes hormones have don't need to be for the worse, it can actually be for the better and make you a stronger partner.

When facing change (or growth) there is always an element of uncertainty... the thing is if we don't embrace it we simply stagnate and never reach our full potential.

what shes not aware of is that ive been on hrt for over a year. :/ So at this point shes already seen every change thats going to happen, but theres just no way to talk to her about it because suprisingly, for once in her life, shes not reseaching or even thinking that there may not be large mental changes.
Well, as for stagnating, now that I know what I really am, accept who I am, and why Ive thought this way for so long, I dont think that I can stagnate.
I would much rather have my soul mate at least along my side, but I suppose I will now never have her support and the only support Ill ever have is here since there is literally zero trans scene around me and the closest support group is two hours away.
Well when live gives you lemons, I guess you gota rum and Coke, right?

A healthy mind should not be psychologically effected by HRT, for TS pre to HRT, there were already two hormones supporting the brain, so there is no significant hormonal depression before and after HRT to effect marginal changes.  However, later day TS inclination can strengthen by mental conditioning that is enhanced directly by physical (appearance) changes due to HRT, and surgery, as well as the opportunity to dress, live and interact with others as the opposite sex for longer time.

Well....
The answer given to me was that XY is male and that is that.
Sounds simple to me.
Too bad that excludes all acceptance.
Oh well, life goes on.