Abstract
The majority of published research on transgender health focuses on associations between external minority stressors (e.g., discrimination) and health. Little is known about how internal minority stressors (e.g., identity concealment and expecting rejection) might predict HIV disparities. The current study addresses this gap by examining the association between external and internal minority stressors and sexual risk behaviors and HIV testing history in a sample of 300 transgender adults across the U.S. Transgender-related discrimination and expecting rejection were associated with sexual risk behaviors. When controlling for covariates, none of the minority stressors were associated with HIV testing. Results illustrate how minority stress, both external and internal, may operate uniquely for transgender individuals.
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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the Suffolk University Institutional Review Board, and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
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Rood, B.A., Kochaver, J.J., McConnell, E.A. et al. Minority Stressors Associated with Sexual Risk Behaviors and HIV Testing in a U.S. Sample of Transgender Individuals. AIDS Behav 22, 3111–3116 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2054-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10461-018-2054-0