Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 May 22:15:100905.
doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2019.100905. eCollection 2019 Sep.

Risk and protective factors for transgender youths' substance use

Ryan J Watson  1 , Jaimie F Veale  2 , Allegra R Gordon  3 , Drew B A Clark  4 , Elizabeth M Saewyc  4
Affiliations

Risk and protective factors for transgender youths' substance use

Ryan J Watson et al. Prev Med Rep. .

Abstract

Research at the intersection of substance use and protective factors among transgender youth is scarce; emerging evidence suggests high risk for substance use for transgender youth. We analyzed data from 323 transgender youth aged 14-18 (M age = 16.67) to investigate the extent that risk (enacted stigma) and protective factors (support from family, school, friends) were related to substance use (i.e., cannabis and tobacco use, binge drinking). Enacted stigma was linked to higher odds of substance use behaviors, family connectedness was related to lower levels of tobacco and cannabis use, and more than one protective factor significantly lowered the probability of engaging in substance use behaviors. Support from multiple sources may be differentially protective against substance use for transgender youth.

Keywords: Probabilities; Protective factors; Substance use; Transgender.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

All authors disclose no potential conflicts, real and perceived.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Probability of past-month cigarette smoking by level of enacted stigma.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Probability of past-month cannabis use by level of enacted stigma.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Asbridge M., Duff C., Marsh D.C., Erickson P.G. Problems with the identification of ‘problematic’ cannabis use: examining the issues of frequency, quantity, and drug use environment. Eur. Addict. Res. 2014;20(5):254–267. - PubMed
    1. Clark T.C., Lucassen M.F., Bullen P., et al. The health and well-being of transgender high school students: results from the New Zealand adolescent health survey (Youth'12) J Adolescent Health. 2014;55(1):93–99. - PubMed
    1. Cleveland M.J., Feinberg M.E., Bontempo D.E., Greenberg M.T. The role of risk and protective factors in substance use across adolescence. J Adoles Health. 2008;43(2):157–164. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Conron K.J., Scott G., Stowell G.S., Landers S.J. Transgender health in Massachusetts: results from a household probability sample of adults. Am. J. Public Health. 2012;102(1):118–122. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Cook J.E., Purdie-Vaughns V., Meyer I.H., Busch J.T. Intervening within and across levels: a multilevel approach to stigma and public health. Soc. Sci. Med. 2014;103:101–109. - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources