Differences in Rape Acknowledgment and Mental Health Outcomes Across Transgender, Nonbinary, and Cisgender Bisexual Youth

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to document the rates of rape acknowledgment (labeling rape as rape rather than using a minimizing label) and the corresponding mental health correlates using the minority stress framework in a unique and vulnerable sample: racially diverse sexual and gender minority young adults. Participants were 245 young adults who identified their sexual orientation as under the bisexual umbrella. A total of 159 of these participants (65.2%) identified their gender identity as nonbinary. All participants completed a series of online questionnaires regarding their sexual victimization history, mental health outcomes (depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD]), and constructs relevant to minority stress theory (level of outness, internalized bisexual negativity, connection to LGBTQ [lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning] community). Rape acknowledgment was significantly greater among gender nonbinary participants (79.9%) than among trans and cisgender male participants (17.9%). Lack of rape acknowledgment was associated with increased anxiety, depression, and PTSD. Outness was significantly associated with greater rape acknowledgment. Despite the highly increased vulnerability for sexual violence among sexual and gender minorities, very little is understood about the mechanisms of this increased vulnerability or their unique needs for recovery. The results of this study strongly suggest the importance of a minority stress framework for understanding this increased vulnerability and for designing sexual violence prevention and recovery interventions for sexual and gender minority populations.

Young Bisexual People’s Experiences of Sexual Violence: A Mixed-Methods Study

“…As reported elsewhere (Anderson, Tarasoff, VanKim, & Flanders, 2019), rates of sexual violence reports were very high amongst participants. A total of 198 participants (80.8%) reported prior completed verbal coercion, and 202 participants (82.4%) reported prior completed rape.…”

Beyond the Rape “Victim”–“Survivor” Binary: How Race, Gender, and Identity Processes Interact to Shape Distress

“…Littleton et al () found many of the same predictors of acknowledgment in a sample of predominantly Latina or African American low‐income women as found in prior samples of predominantly white college women, though racial/ethnic comparisons were not made. Researchers have also found college men are less likely to acknowledge rape than women (Boyle and Walker ), and persons of color are more likely to acknowledge rape than white participants (Anderson et al ). While important, such research does not address how social identities shape victimization identities, still tending to focus on definitions of “rape” rather than self‐conceptualizations.…”

Discrepant Responding across Measures of College Students’ Sexual Victimization Experiences: Conceptual Replication and Extension

“…The rate of sexual violence victimization endured by the small population of gender minority participants in this study was 100%, in line with literature suggesting the risk of sexual violence for gender minorities is very high (Stotzer, 2009); we strongly recommend future research with this community and other diverse populations. It may be that sexual and gender minorities would benefit from measures designed with their specific needs and risks in mind (Anderson, Tarasoff, VanKim, & Flanders, 2019). Finally, the efficacy of efforts to reduce the risk of sexual violence may be inaccurately assessed, especially in under-studied and disadvantaged populations, if the assessment of prevalence rates are inaccurate.…”