Primary Submission Category: LGBTQ+
Geographies Of Transgender Minority Stress: The Role Of US States In Shaping Transgender Mental Health
Authors: Zoey Rawson,
Presenting Author: Zoey Rawson*
The need to address stigma within social institutions is evident in the high rates of psychological distress within the transgender community. My research addresses the question: How do societal attitudes within states influence health disparity between transgender and cisgender adults? I used data from the TransPop Study along with data on state public support for anti-trans bathrooms to understand the impact of societal attitudes on transgender and cisgender mental distress. Here, attitudinal context referred to whether someone lived in a state within in the bottom third (tolerant), middle third (average), or top third (intolerant) of states in relation to public support for anti-trans bathroom bills. Transgender adults had worse mental health outcomes regardless of the general attitudinal context. The disparity in mental distress was equally as wide among tolerant and intolerant contexts. These findings suggest that tolerant contexts may lack the readiness and resources to tackle the needs of the most vulnerable transgender adults among them. Quantitative research may want to confirm whether transgender adults facing extreme discrimination do better in intolerant contexts. Qualitative research may want to explore the compensatory strategies used within communities in less tolerant contexts. Further, more refined models and holistic measures of societal attitudes are needed.