Gender minority stress in trans and gender diverse adolescents and young people

TLDR

Gender minority stress encompasses discrimination and stigma faced by gender minorities. The study investigates how gender minority stress relates to psychological well‑being in trans and gender‑diverse youth. Using a cross‑sectional survey of 241 participants (135 cisgender, 106 trans/gender‑diverse) aged 16–25, the authors measured anxiety, depression, well‑being, dysphoria, minority stress, resilience, and heteronormative beliefs and applied hierarchical regression to analyze the associations. Trans and gender‑diverse youth reported higher anxiety, depression, and poorer well‑being than cisgender peers; higher minority stress correlated with worse mental health, especially among those assigned female at birth, while greater resilience and being assigned male at birth were linked to better well‑being, underscoring the need for societal efforts to reduce minority stress.

Abstract

Gender minority stress refers to social stressors such as discrimination and stigma that gender minorities are subject to. This study examines the relationship between gender minority stress and psychological well-being in trans and gender diverse young people (TGDYP). We used a cross-sectional design to investigate the relationship between gender minority stress and mental well-being in TGDYP aged 16–25. We measured anxiety, depression, general psychological well-being, gender dysphoria, gender minority stress (distal and proximal), resilience and heteronormative beliefs in cisgender ( n = 135) and trans and gender diverse (TGD) ( n = 106) participants. Hierarchical regression was used to analyse the data. TGD participants had significantly higher levels of anxiety and depression, and poorer general well-being, than cisgender participants. Although the direction of the relationship cannot be determined through our analysis, TGD participants who experienced more minority stress and were assigned female at birth had higher levels of depression and anxiety. TGD participants with higher resilience scores and were assigned male at birth had better well-being overall. Our findings suggest that we should pay attention to minority stress when thinking about how to reduce anxiety and depression in TGDYP. The responsibility for improving well-being lies not just with services but instead should be held by our whole society.