The Role of Environmental Contexts on Impacts of Gender Minority Stress

Purpose: Individuals who identify as transgender and gender diverse (TGD) often experience unique stressors associated with their TGD identity, referred to as gender minority stress (GMS), which can increase negative affect. This study examined whether social (i.e., when alone, with close others, with strangers/acquaintances) and environmental (i.e., at home, out-of-home) context was related to the likelihood of experiencing GMS and whether social and environmental context moderated the relationship between GMS and negative affect.Methods: This is a secondary analysis of ecological momentary assessment (EMA) data from 25 TGD adults who randomly received brief surveys twice daily for 21 days (N = 1,050 observations analyzed). Participants reported where they were, who they were with, GMS they recently experienced, and their current level of negative affect. Using multilevel models, we examined whether GMS was more likely to be experienced in specific contexts, whether GMS predicted negative affect, and if these contexts moderated the association between GMS and negative affect. Results: Participants were significantly more likely to experience a proximal gender minority stressor when they were out-of-the-home alone (compared to home alone), and when they were with non-close others (compared to close others). Social and environmental context significantly moderated the within-person association between GMS and negative affect. GMS was positively associated with negative affect for when participants were home alone but not when out-of-the-home alone. Conclusions: Social and environmental context may impact GMS experiences and subsequent negative affect, and should be considered in related interventions.