The Association Between Community Connectedness, Identity Importance, and Political Action for Trans Rights by Transgender Youth and Cisgender LGBPQ Youth

Trans youth are at the center of a political battle over trans rights. In response, many LGBTQ+ youth are engaging in political action, including protest, campaigning, and public education and testimony. We investigate whether two social identity-based factors - community connectedness and identity importance - are associated with political action related to trans issues among transgender youth and cisgender LGBPQ youth. We conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses of data from a longitudinal annual survey of transgender and cisgender youth in 2022 and 2023 (total N = 396). We found that youth who feel connected to those who share their trans or LGBPQ identity are more likely to engage in political action for trans rights. However, we found no evidence that those who feel their trans or LGBPQ identity is important to them are more likely to engage in political action. These findings contribute to the literature on social identity-based features that may motivate people to engage in political action.