The Role of Internalized Transphobia and Negative Expectations in the Relationship Between Identity-Specific Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Outcomes in Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Young Adults

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals are at increased risk for mental health problems, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The Gender Minority Stress Model posits that this disparity can be explained by several pathways, with proximal stressors (e.g., internalized transphobia, negative expectations) mediating the relationship between distal stressors (e.g., intimate partner violence [IPV]) and mental health. The current study sought to assess one such pathway by testing the hypothesis that internalized transphobia and negative expectations would mediate the relationship between identity-specific IPV (i.e., transgender-related IPV, identity abuse) and depression, anxiety, and PTSD. All variables were measured concurrently using an in-person survey with 200 TGNC young adults. As hypothesized, negative expectations were found to likely mediate the relationships between identity-specific IPV and mental health; the proportion mediated by negative expectations ranged from .253 to .487. Contrary to expectations, internalized transphobia was not found to be a likely mediator in any models, although it was associated with mental health in bivariate correlations. More research is needed to determine why negative expectations, but not internalized transphobia, may be a mediator between identity-specific IPV and psychopathology. However, the present results indicate that clinical work with TGNC IPV survivors should account for identity-specific experiences and may benefit from targeting cognitive distortions related to negative expectations. Future research should assess this pathway with a longitudinal design, as well as test additional Gender Minority Stress Model pathways to gain a more thorough understanding of the factors affecting mental health disparities in the TGNC population.