“It just feels right” : perceptions of the effects of community connectedness among trans individuals

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Bowling, J., Barker, J., Lace, T., & Gunn, L. (2020). “It just feels right” : perceptions of the effects of community connectedness among trans individuals. Plos One. https://doi.org/doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240295
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Description

Trans individuals (e.g. trans men and women, non-binary, gender fluid) are at higher risk for mental health concerns, in part due to marginalization. Previous work has documented the effects of social support and community engagement on health outcomes. However, individuals’ perceptions of community engagement effects may point to opportunities for intervention. This mixed methods study examines trans individuals’ perceived effects of participating in trans communities on health outcomes. Semi-structured in-person interviews were conducted with 20 individuals, and 60 individuals participated in cross-sectional online surveys. Perceived discrimination had a strong negative association with self-assessed mental health. Effects of participation included a) positive: contextualization and normalization of experience, self-appraisal, safety, and relief; and b) neutral/negative: energy drain and stigmatization. Effects of not participating included loneliness, depression, isolation, hiding identity, and losing resources. Both discrimination and non-participation in trans communities had negative effects on mental health. Though community participation is often discussed as positive for marginalized populations, it may be important to include possible negative effects (such as energy drain) in research.

Details
Title

“It just feels right” : perceptions of the effects of community connectedness among trans individuals

Author(s)

Bowling, Jessamyn
Barker, Jordan
Lace, Tatim
Gunn, Laura

UNC Charlotte Affiliate Type

Faculty

Extent

1 online resource

Date Published

2020

Material Type

Journal article

Genre

articles

Resource Type

text

Abstract

Trans individuals (e.g. trans men and women, non-binary, gender fluid) are at higher risk for mental health concerns, in part due to marginalization. Previous work has documented the effects of social support and community engagement on health outcomes. However, individuals’ perceptions of community engagement effects may point to opportunities for intervention. This mixed methods study examines trans individuals’ perceived effects of participating in trans communities on health outcomes. Semi-structured in-person interviews were conducted with 20 individuals, and 60 individuals participated in cross-sectional online surveys. Perceived discrimination had a strong negative association with self-assessed mental health. Effects of participation included a) positive: contextualization and normalization of experience, self-appraisal, safety, and relief; and b) neutral/negative: energy drain and stigmatization. Effects of not participating included loneliness, depression, isolation, hiding identity, and losing resources. Both discrimination and non-participation in trans communities had negative effects on mental health. Though community participation is often discussed as positive for marginalized populations, it may be important to include possible negative effects (such as energy drain) in research.

Subjects--Topics

Transgender people
Mental health

Is Part Of

PloS one

Language

English

Published Version (Please cite this version)

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0240295

Publisher's Version

https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240295

Permalink

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/work:204

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