Perceived Effect of Race/Ethnicity, Place, and Religion on Gender Identity

Findings from a Nationwide Sample of Transgender, Nonbinary, and Gender Diverse Young Adults in the U.S

Bibliographic Data

ID12801461
AuthorsSari L Reisner (0000-0001-7868-4746, Harvard University, corresponding author), Yuxin Liu (0000-0001-9753-2617, Boston Children's Hospital), Regina L Tham (0000-0002-6810-9761, Boston Children's Hospital), Regina Tham, Kaiden Kane (0000-0002-0840-1613, Boston Children's Hospital), S Wilson Cole (0000-0002-9694-3091, Boston Children's Hospital), Elizabeth R Boskey (0000-0002-4982-1323, Boston Children's Hospital), Sabra L Katz-Wise (0000-0003-4825-6673), Sabra Katz-Wise (Boston Children's Hospital), Alex S Keuroghlian (0000-0002-6624-8354, Harvard University), Cassandra Morrow (0009-0006-5457-3156, Boston Children's Hospital), Cassandra Frankel Morrow, Rena Xu (0000-0002-0142-7589, Boston Children's Hospital)
Year2026
Publication date2026-03-31
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSexuality Research and Social Policy (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1553-6610 • E-ISSN: 1868-9884
PublisherSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s13178-026-01326-5
OpenAlexW7147488242
LanguageEN
References cited33

Transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse young adults (TGD-YA) experience mental health inequities. Negative experiences coming out (disclosing gender identity) and/or understanding gender identity can adversely affect mental health. This formative study explored the perceived effect of race/ethnicity, place, and religion on TGD-YA experiences of coming out/understanding gender. In August 2022, a U.S. nationwide sample of TGD-YA ages 18–25 years (n = 104) completed a cross-sectional survey including sociodemographics and coming out/understanding gender experiences. Three questions asked about the extent to which race/ethnicity, place, and religion made it harder to come out/understand gender. Descriptive and bivariate analyses assessed prevalence of each of these and associations of race/ethnicity, place, and family religion. Firth’s penalized logistic regression models were fit for individual-level TGD-YA characteristics; a random-intercept multilevel model was used for contextual-level anti-transgender legislative state policy. Mean age was 21.8 years; 46% were people of color (POC); 66% were nonbinary; 33% resided in the South and 19% Midwest; 34% lived in a state with anti-transgender legislation; 53% reported Christian family religion. TGD-YA who were POC, lived in a state with anti-transgender legislation, and had a Christian family religion had the highest odds of reporting that race/ethnicity, place, and religion, respectively, made it “harder” to come out/understand gender (p < 0.05). Experiences coming out/understanding gender for TGD-YA were affected by race/ethnicity, geographic context, and family religion. Findings suggest the need for supportive interventions that address intersectional stigma, including supportive gender-related state policies given the association of state-level anti-transgender legislation with difficulties coming out/understanding gender

Affect (linguistics · Bivariate analysis · Intersectionality · Logistic regression · Mental health · Multilevel model · Odds · Psychological intervention · Young adult · Gender Roles and Identity Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Racial and Ethnic Identity Research

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