Affective Ties, Cognitive Strains: The Role of Social Identity Dimensions and Psychological Needs Fulfillment in the Mental Health of Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Individuals in Chile

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals experience higher levels of psychological distress than cisgender individuals. Social identity has been linked to mental health through its role in satisfying core psychological needs, including belonging, self-esteem, control, and meaningful existence. Social identity is a multidimensional construct that includes affective identification with the group and cognitive centrality, the latter encompassing identity importance and identity salience, which may relate differently to mental health outcomes. This study examined these associations among TGNC individuals in Chile, a context in which such processes remain understudied. We hypothesized that identity centrality would be positively associated with psychological distress, whereas affective identification would be negatively associated with distress. We further hypothesized that identity salience, rather than identity importance, would show the strongest association with distress, and that psychological needs satisfaction would mediate these relationships. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 155 TGNC adults, and data were analyzed using path analysis. Results indicated that psychological needs satisfaction mediated the protective effect of affective identification, while identity salience was associated with greater psychological distress through reduced needs satisfaction. These findings underscore the importance of considering the multidimensional nature of social identity when examining mental health among TGNC populations.