Victimization and Microaggressions Targeting LGBTQ College Students: Gender Identity As a Moderator of Psychological Distress

ABSTRACT

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer and questioning (LGBTQ) discrimination continues to be common on college campuses. While a number of studies have examined blatant victimization among students, little attention has been given to LGBTQ microaggressions. In this study, we examine both blatant victimization and microaggressions and their association with psychological distress among LGBTQ college students (N = 497) and look at whether gender identity moderates these relationships. Both forms of discrimination are associated with lower self-esteem and greater stress and anxiety. Victimization is more negatively associated with self-esteem among trans* students. Our findings emphasize the importance of addressing both blatant and subtle forms of discrimination targeting LGBTQ college students.

KEYWORDS:

• Campus climate
• college students
• LGBTQ
• mental health
• microaggressions
• victimization

Acknowledgment

We thank the participants, as well as Alex Kulick (PhD student, Department of Sociology, University of California, Santa Barbara), who assisted with the survey and data collection.

Funding

This research was supported by Wilfrid Laurier University and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. It was also supported by the Curtis Center and the National Institute for Institutional Diversity, both located at the University of Michigan.

Notes

^1. We use the term transgender as an umbrella term incorporating anyone whose self-identified gender identity differs from predominant cultural expectations for their sex assigned at birth. This definition incorporates individuals who choose to biomedically transition from one gender to another (i.e., transsexuals), as well as those who elect not to seek such treatment. The shorter term trans* is meant to include a range of non-binary gender identities (e.g., genderqueer) as well as those who may not use the term transgender for themselves.

^2. Some individuals who identified as straight/heterosexual group were trans*. Others, however, were cisgender and reported only heterosexual attraction. When running the multiple linear regression models, we compared final results both with and without this group of 37 cisgender heterosexuals; results were the same either way. Due to the fluid nature of sexuality and gender and the inherent difficult of attaching simple labels to oneself, we chose to retain these respondents in our sample.

^3. We originally ran analyses with victimization and microaggressions in the same models; however, these two variables had a moderately strong correlation (.59) that resulted in problems with suppression in the regression models. Therefore, we ran separate regression models for each discrimination variable.