Transgender and gender non-conforming people’s adaptive coping responses to minority stress: A framework synthesis

Abstract

Transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people are frequently exposed to stigma, discrimination, and violence, with adverse impacts on wellbeing. The ‘Minority Stress Model’ and sources of gender affirmation both highlight the impact of social oppression and provide useful means to understand how TGNC people can develop their resilience and what may contribute to different ways of coping. While this stress has been explored in previous reviews, a limited focus on lived experiences constrained discussion of how coping approaches could be put into action in relation to gender affirmation. Therefore, the current review sought to better understand TGNC individuals’ opportunities for gender affirmation through their experiences of coping with minority stress. A systematic search yielded nine studies reporting qualitative data related to adaptive coping. Framework synthesis was applied through an a priori framework, based on minority stress and gender affirmation research, which generated eight themes: four themes privileging psychological affirmation comprised ‘defining one’s own gender identity’, ‘fostering self-belief’, ‘using information and knowledge’, and ‘drawing upon other identities’; and four themes offering social affirmation comprised ‘connecting with the TGNC community’, ‘cultivating allies’, ‘advocating for change’, and ‘asserting oneself’. Our findings augment established models and concepts with the delineation of coping responses for TGNC individuals that can support gender affirmation and mitigate minority stress.