Coping with stress due to gender prejudice in Chilean transgender people: New findings using a qualitative approach

Abstract

Abstract Background Like other nations, in Chile, transgender people confront high levels of prejudice operating across structural, interpersonal, and individual levels. The Minority Stress Model indicates that prejudice-related stress is related to worse health indicators. Coping has been used to understand how people deal with this prejudice-derived stress. This study describes and characterizes how gender ‘prejudice is managed and coped with among transgender people in Chile. Methods We used a snowball sample to recruit 26 transgender Chileans. The inclusion criteria were to be Chileans or lived in Chile last 6 months, identify as transgender and be 18 years old. We used a semi-structured interview guide with open-ended questions to capture the subjective self-designation of gender identification. Interviews lasted approximately 75 minutes. We used thematic and critical discourse analyses to identify themes and subthemes. Results The results indicate that all participants experienced prejudice at different times and varied intensities. Prejudice occurs at home, where parents dońt accept this identity, & at school in the form of bullying. Prejudices were also suffered in health centers & hospitals, where doctors exercised prejudice. Prejudice also depended on the period of the transition process. Prejudice was most intense at the beginning of the transition process & decreased as transition progressed. The results showed that trans-identifying persons used the following coping strategies: self-concealment, performing their gender (e.g., more feminine appearance), & advocacy for their rights & education. Each strategy is used in varied situations & by how one defined oneself. Conclusions Coping strategies & the concept of coping must be revisited among trans-identifying persons. The coping strategies used are relevant for planning clinical and social interventions aimed at trans people who still live in prejudice due to their identity in many countries.