Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Thesis Format

Monograph

Degree

Master of Science

Program

Epidemiology and Biostatistics

Supervisor

Bauer, Greta R.

Abstract

Background: Anticipating discrimination may lead to poor physical and mental health outcomes for transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) individuals. It is important to take an intersectional approach to understand how anticipated discrimination is unequally distributed among TGNB Canadians.

Methods: Among a Canadian community sample of TGNB people aged ≥14 years, the Intersectional Discrimination Index – Anticipated discrimination (InDI-A) measure was validated. Multilevel analysis of individual heterogeneity and discriminatory accuracy (MAIHDA) and multiple linear regression were used to compare mean anticipated discrimination across ethnoracial and sex/gender intersections.

Results: A one-factor model of the InDI-A was supported with a satisfactory fit. Racialized participants, trans women, and nonbinary people assigned male at birth experienced higher mean anticipated discrimination. There were no differences between the levels of anticipated discrimination for Black and non-Black racialized participants.

Conclusion: There is a little variation between intersections, but all intersections experienced high levels of mean anticipated discrimination.

Summary for Lay Audience

Transgender and nonbinary (TGNB) people experience high levels of discrimination in almost every institution and system. Anticipated discrimination is the expectation of discrimination or stigmatization. To avoid this discrimination, TGNB people may change their behaviour. For example, expecting discrimination, some TGNB people avoid going to a healthcare institution which can have a negative effect on their mental and physical health. Within the TGNB community, some groups may anticipate or experience more discrimination than other groups because of their race, age, income, or other social positions.

Intersectionality theory looks at how people belong to multiple and intersecting social categories such as race and gender. The specific combination of these identities and positions creates unique experiences. At a structural level, these experiences reflect the intersection of systems of oppression such as racism, sexism, and transphobia. Groups with different identities may experience different levels of anticipated discrimination. Looking at these intersecting identities to better understand anticipated discrimination in TGNB Canadians is important.

This thesis used data from Trans PULSE Canada, a national community study that collected data on the health and well-being of Canadian TGNB people aged ≥ 14 years. We looked at how anticipated discrimination was experienced by 12 groups using the combination of ethnoracial group (i.e., Indigenous, non-Indigenous racialized, and white) and sex/gender (i.e., trans man, trans woman, nonbinary assigned male at birth, nonbinary assigned female at birth).

We tested the survey questions for anticipated discrimination to see if, when combined, they seem to relate to each other the way researchers believe they should and whether we can trust them. The questions were tested to see if any of the questions worked differently for different race and gender groups. We did not find questions that worked differently across groups.

We determined the average level of anticipated discrimination in each sex/gender and ethnoracial group. Participants with racialized identities reported higher average levels of anticipated discrimination than white participants. Trans women and nonbinary people assigned male at birth reported higher average levels than trans men. While there were different levels of anticipated discrimination between the intersectional groups, all groups had very high averages.

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

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