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. 2021 Apr;36(7-8):3374-3399.
doi: 10.1177/0886260518775148. Epub 2018 May 21.

Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Among Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Adults

Richard S Henry  1 , Paul B Perrin  1 , Bethany M Coston  1 , Jenna M Calton  2
Affiliations

Intimate Partner Violence and Mental Health Among Transgender/Gender Nonconforming Adults

Richard S Henry et al. J Interpers Violence. 2021 Apr.

Abstract

There is significant evidence to suggest that intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with mental health problems including anxiety and depression. However, this research has almost exclusively been conducted through heteronormative and cisgender lenses. The current study is an exploratory, quantitative analysis of the relationship between experiences of IPV and mental health among transgender/gender nonconforming (TGNC) adults. A national sample of 78 TGNC individuals completed a survey online measuring participants' experiences with IPV and depression, anxiety, and satisfaction with life. Of the sample, 72% reported at least one form of IPV victimization in their lifetime: 32% reported experiencing sexual IPV, 71% psychological IPV, 42% physical IPV, and 29% IPV assault with injury. All four types of IPV were positively associated with anxiety, and all but physical abuse was significantly associated with depression. None of the four types of IPV was associated with satisfaction with life. In a canonical correlation, IPV victimization and mental health had 31% overlapping variance, a large-sized effect. Sexual IPV and anxiety were the highest loading variables, suggesting that TGNC individuals who have experienced sexual IPV specifically tended to have higher levels of anxiety. These findings support previous qualitative, small-sample studies suggesting that IPV is a pervasive problem in the TGNC community. TGNC individuals who have experienced IPV may be at increased risk for mental health problems, and therefore, IPV history may trigger appropriate mental health screenings and referrals for this population in health care settings.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; gender nonconforming; intimate partner violence; transgender.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Conflicting Interests

The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Canonical correlation model of IPV and mental health. Note. IPV = intimate partner violence.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Standardized canonical loadings for the first canonical correlation with loadings in bold that surpassed the .40 cutoff. Note. IPV = intimate partner violence.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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