Results suggest the need for practitioners to focus on interventions that reduce avoidant coping strategies, while simultaneously increasing social support, in order to improve mental health for transgender individuals. Individuals who are in the beginning stages of their transition will use different coping strategies than those who are in later stages; interventions should be adjusted on the basis of the transition status of transgender clients.
This study examined transgender community belongingness as a mediator between strength of transgender identity and well-being. A total of 571 transgender adults (n = 209 transgender women, n = 217 transgender men, and n = 145 nonbinary-identified individuals) completed an online survey assessing transgender community belongingness, strength of transgender identity (operationalized as the extent to which a person self-categorizes their identity as transgender and the extent to which they believe their gender transition to be important to their self-definition), and well-being (using measures of self-esteem, satisfaction with life, and psychological well-being). Structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data. When controlling for participants' income, age, and stage of gender transition, transgender community belongingness fully mediated the relationship between strength of transgender identity and well-being. Strength of transgender identity was indirectly and positively related to well-being through community belongingness, but was not directly related to well-being. Results suggest that transgender community belongingness is an important construct in the mental health of transgender people. The strength of a person's transgender identity also appears to be a significant construct in transgender people's well-being via its relationship with transgender community belongingness. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record
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