Transgender and Gender-Diverse Minority Stress and Substance Use Frequency and Problems: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Abstract

The goal of this preregistered study was to systematically review and meta-analyze quantitative research examining relationships between minority stress (distal stress, expectations of gender-based rejection, concealment of gender identity, and internalized transphobia) and substance use (alcohol use frequency and problems, and drug use frequency and problems) in transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) samples. Searches of PsycInfo, MEDLINE, Gender Studies, and LGBTQ+ Source databases were conducted for quantitative articles that included effect sizes for cross-sectional associations between TGD-based minority stress and substance use outcomes. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to compute effect sizes for 16 minority stressor-substance use variable pairs. Moderator analyses were conducted for publication year and proportion of the sample assigned female sex at birth, identified as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC), or identified as a sexual minority. Thirty-six studies with 76 effect sizes were included. Significant correlations were observed for relationships between distal stress and alcohol use frequency (r=0.13; 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.06 to 0.20) and problems (r=0.09; 95% CI=0.03 to 0.14), and drug use frequency (r=0.16; 95% CI=0.11 to 0.21) and problems (r=0.14; 95% CI=0.05 to 0.23). No associations for proximal minority stress-substance use variable pairs were significant. Effect sizes for associations between distal stress and alcohol use frequency were higher in samples with more BIPOC participants (z=4.27, p<0.001, R ²=0.740). Findings indicate that distal, but not proximal, minority stress was significantly associated with drug and alcohol use frequency and problems. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed.

Keywords: meta-analysis; minority stress; substance use; transgender.