Transgender and gender expansive emerging adults: the moderating role of thwarted belongingness on mental health

ABSTRACT

Transgender and gender expansive-emerging adults experience multiple forms of gender minority stress, which affect their mental health and wellbeing. Belongingness has been identified as a factor that fosters resilience among this population, with potential protective effects. Few studies have explored the role of thwarted belongingness and its potential moderating effect on the relation between gender minority stress and mental health. This study recruited a sample of 93 transgender and gender expansive emerging adults between the ages of 18 and 21 to examine whether thwarted belongingness significantly moderates the relation between gender minority stressors and mental health symptoms. We found evidence that thwarted belongingness moderates the relation between social rejection and depressive symptoms and the interaction effect between thwarted belongingness and victimisation was significantly associated with psychological stress. For these associations, high levels of thwarted belongingness amplified the positive relation between gender minority stress and mental health symptoms. At low levels of thwarted belongingness, the relation between rejection and depression was negative and the association between victimisation and psychological stress was no longer statistically significant. Findings suggest factors that minimise or interrupt thwarted belongingness among transgender and gender-expensive emerging adults may be points of intervention to improve mental health outcomes.

KEYWORDS:

• Gender minority stress
• transgender
• nonbinary
• emerging adults
• mental health

Acknowledgments

Data collection for the LGBTQ⁺ Youth Supports study was funded by the VCU Presidential Research Quest Fund (PI: McDonald). The research reported in this publication is supported by a National Institute of Health, Health Disparities Loan Repayment Program Award through the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (1L60HD103238-01; PI: McDonald). We would like to acknowledge the youth and young adults who participated in this research by graciously sharing their stories. We also thank the staff at Side by Side, Virginia League for Planned Parenthood, Nationz Foundation, and Health Brigade for their contribution to this work and continued investment in our project. We thank Dr. Traci Wike for her contributions to the research design and supervision of research assistants during the planning process. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development [1L60HD103238-01].