Oppression-Based Traumatic Stress among Transgender and Gender Expansive Adults: Multiple Forms of Discrimination and Trauma Symptoms

Transgender and gender-expansive (TGE) individuals experience significant oppression-based traumatic stress due to societal prejudice, discrimination, and pervasive invalidation. TGE individuals who identify with several marginalized identities may experience multiple forms of discrimination (e.g. racism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, etc.). Oppression-based stressors are currently unaccounted for in psychological diagnostic criteria, such as those for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Research is needed to understand the symptomatology and mental health consequences of multiple forms of oppression on trauma outcomes in TGE adults. A sample of 121 TGE adults in the US participated in an hour-long qualtrics survey assessing demographics, discrimination experiences, and trauma symptoms. Results indicated that frequency of TGE discrimination was significantly associated with PTSD symptoms (e.g. hypervigilance, avoidance; ß = 0.37, SE = 0.08, p < 0.001) and trauma symptoms of discrimination (e.g. feelings of alienation, perceiving others as dangerous; ß = 0.53, SE = 0.06, p < 0.001). Furthermore, the frequency of everyday discrimination was significantly associated with PTSD symptoms (B = 0.77, CI [0.50, 1.05], SE = 0.14, p < 0.001). Follow-up analyses found that the number of discriminated identities (e.g. gender, race, sexual orientation) was also associated with PTSD symptoms and trauma symptoms of discrimination. Overall, these findings point to the importance of macro-level efforts that challenge systems of oppression to reduce the incidence of discrimination and subsequent trauma symptoms.