Minority Stress, Resilience, and Mental Health: A Study of Italian Transgender People

• Published in: Journal of social issues Vol. 73; no. 3; pp. 563 - 585
• Main Authors: Scandurra, Cristiano, Amodeo, Anna Lisa, Valerio, Paolo, Bochicchio, Vincenzo, Frost, David M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-09-2017
• Subjects: Conformity; Discrimination; Expectations; Gender nonconforming; Health care policy; Health disparities; Health problems; High risk; Internalization; Mental disorders; Mental health; Minority groups; Oppression; Perceived social support; Prejudice; Protective factors; Resilience; Social issues; Social problems; Social support; Stigma; Stress; Transgender persons; Transsexuality; Italy
• ISSN: 0022-4537; 1540-4560
• DOI: 10.1111/josi.12232

Transgender people often experience oppression because of gender nonconformity. They represent an extremely stigmatized population at high risk of developing mental health problems. The minority stress model is a theoretical model used to understand social stigma as a potential cause of mental health disparities faced by the transgender population. In Italy, studies applying this model to the transgender population are limited. The current study applied the minority stress model to a sample of Italian transgender people (n = 149), analyzing effects of prejudice events, expectations of rejection, and internalized transphobia, and their interaction with protective factors (resilience and social support), on mental health. The results suggest that exposure to everyday discrimination and internalized transphobia are associated with increased mental health problems, while perceived social support from family and resilience significantly reduced the strength of association between everyday discrimination and mental health. Findings have important implications for both social issues and policies.