Out in Suburbia: Associations between residential location, mental health, and community connectedness among LGBTQ Australians

Figures & data

Table 1. Sample characteristics.

	Cisgender (n = 5,174)		Trans and gender diverse (n = 1,466)
	n	%	n	%
Age group
18–24	1530	29.6	544	37.1
25–34	1435	27.7	501	34.2
35–44	894	17.3	220	15
45–54	690	13.3	107	7.3
55+	625	12.1	94	6.4
Sexual orientation
Lesbian	1186	23	176	12.1
Gay	1810	35	102	7
Bisexual	1074	20.8	273	18.7
Pansexual	270	5.2	217	14.9
Queer	399	7.7	411	28.2
Asexual	116	2.2	91	6.2
Something else	312	6	189	13
Gender
Cisgender man	2281	44.1	-	-
Cisgender woman	2893	55.9	-	-
Trans man	-	-	297	20.3
Trans woman	-	-	277	18.9
Non-binary	-	-	892	60.8
Educational attainment
Secondary or below	1297	25.1	436	29.8
Non-university tertiary	1086	21	379	25.9
University-undergraduate	1512	29.2	373	25.5
University-postgraduate	1279	24.7	277	18.9
Weekly income (AUD)
0–$399	1387	27.1	652	44.9
$400–$999	1285	25.1	411	28.3
$1,000–$1,999	1698	33.2	303	20.9
$2,000+	742	14.5	85	5.9
Paid employment
No	1178	22.8	538	36.7
Yes	3996	77.2	928	63.3
Residential location
Capital city, inner suburban	2277	44.5	590	40.5
Capital city, outer suburban	1390	27.2	438	30.1
Regional city or town	1118	21.8	345	23.7
Rural/remote	334	6.5	83	5.7

Table 2. Associations between residential location and mental health and community connection.

	High/very high psychological distress (past 4 weeks)				Suicide ideation (lifetime)				Suicide attempt (lifetime)
	Adjusted multivariable				Adjusted multivariable				Adjusted multivariable
	n	%	AOR(95% CI)	P	n	%	AOR(95% CI)	P	n	%	AOR(95% CI)	P
Cisgender
Residential location
Capital city, inner suburban	1035	45.5	Ref	-	1536	67.9	-	-	360	21.6	-	-
Capital city, outer suburban	830	60.3	1.28 (1.10–1.49)	0.002	1057	76.8	1.28 (1.09–1.51)	0.003	295	28.7	1.28 (1.06–1.55)	0.010
Regional city or town	640	57.4	1.24 (1.05–1.46)	0.010	842	76.1	1.29 (1.08–1.53)	0.005	265	32.2	1.47 (1.20–1.79)	0.000
Rural/Remote	168	50.9	1.04 (0.80–1.35)	0.780	234	70.3	1.04 (0.80–1.36)	0.746	81	34.9	1.78 (1.30–2.42)	0.000
Trans and gender diverse
Residential location
Capital city, inner suburban	417	70	Ref	-	534	90.5	-	-	221	44.3	-	-
Capital city, outer suburban	335	76.1	1.18 (0.86–1.61)	0.306	402	92.2	1.34 (0.83–2.17)	0.235	175	47.8	1.1 (0.82–1.47)	0.523
Regional city or town	263	75.8	1.12 (0.79–1.59)	0.516	314	92.4	1.35 (0.79–2.29)	0.271	132	45.1	0.87 (0.63–1.20)	0.391
Rural/Remote	61	74.4	1.17 (0.62–2.21)	0.631	79	95.2	2.5 (0.81–7.69)	0.111	40	58.8	1.75 (0.98–3.12)	0.058

AOR: Adjusted odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; Ref: Reference category.

Table 3. Associations between residential location and mental health, community connection and feeling that community has affirmed gender (trans and gender diverse only).

	Feel a part of the LGBTIQ community				Being a part of the LGBTIQ community is a positive thing for me				Local community has affirmed gender in supportive ways
	Adjusted multivariable				Adjusted multivariable				Adjusted multivariable
	n	%	AOR(95% CI)	P	n	%	AOR(95% CI)	P	n	%	AOR(95% CI)	P
Cisgender
Residential location
Capital city, inner suburban	1420	61	Ref	-	1537	66.3	-	-	-	-	-	-
Capital city, outer suburban	682	48.4	0.63 (0.55–0.73)	0.000	788	56.2	0.66 (0.57–0.76)	0.000	-	-	-	-
Regional city or town	572	50.2	0.68 (0.58–0.79)	0.000	676	59.5	0.77 (0.66–0.90)	0.001	-	-	-	-
Rural/Remote	170	50.1	0.67 (0.53–0.86)	0.001	188	55.3	0.65 (0.51–0.84)	0.001	-	-	-	-
Trans and gender diverse
Residential location
Capital city, inner suburban	413	68	Ref	-	416	68.4	-	-	208	42.5	-	-
Capital city, outer suburban	266	59.9	0.78 (0.59–1.02)	0.065	277	62.1	0.84 (0.64–1.11)	0.213	107	30.1	0.54 (0.40–0.74)	0.000
Regional city or town	195	55.1	0.68 (0.51–0.91)	0.011	212	59.9	0.84 (0.62–1.13)	0.240	87	31	0.54 (0.39–0.76)	0.000
Rural/Remote	45	52.3	0.58 (0.36–0.93)	0.023	42	49.4	0.47 (0.29–0.77)	0.003	14	23.3	0.36 (0.19–0.70)	0.003

AOR:Adjusted odds ratio; CI: Confidence interval; Ref: Reference category.