The relationship between minority stress factors and suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst transgender and gender non-conforming adults: A systematic review

• Published in: Journal of affective disorders Vol. 303; pp. 31 - 51
• Main Authors: Gosling, H., Pratt, D., Montgomery, H., Lea, J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Netherlands Elsevier B.V 15.04.2022
• Subjects: Adult; Gender Identity; Gender non-conforming; Humans; Minority Stress; Reproducibility of Results; Suicidal Ideation; Suicide; Suicide, Attempted; Systematic Review; Transgender Persons; Minority Stress; Transgender; Suicide; Gender non-conforming; Systematic Review
• ISSN: 0165-0327; 1573-2517
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2021.12.091

•Gender minority stress is associated with increased suicide outcomes in trans adults.•Community resilience is negatively associated with suicide outcomes in trans adults.•Community resilience did not buffer the negative effects of gender minority stress.•Dysfunctional coping is associated with increased suicide attempts in trans adults. The impact of Minority Stress (MS) upon suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming (TGNC) adults is not sufficiently understood, hence our intervention efforts on an individual and societal level are limited. This review aims to evaluate recent literature that reports on the association between MS and suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst TGNC adults. PsycINFO, Web of Science, MEDLINE, CINAHL and EMBASE were systematically searched for relevant articles. Peer reviewed and grey literature were considered. Included papers reported quantitative analyses on associations between MS factors and suicidal ideation and behaviours amongst TGNC adults. The quality of papers was assessed. 28 papers were identified as eligible. Findings suggested positive associations between external and internal minority stressors and suicidal ideation and behaviour. Dysfunctional individual coping was associated with a greater likelihood of suicide attempts. Community resilience was negatively associated with suicidal outcomes, but did not consistently buffer the effects of minority stress. Overall quality of included papers was ‘poor’. Almost all papers were cross-sectional by design, therefore causality cannot be inferred. Many papers measured variables using non-standardised measures undermining the reliability and validity of reported results. Findings offer support to the application of MS theory to the understanding of suicidal ideation and behaviour amongst TGNC. Future research should use standardised measures and longitudinal designs to better support the investigation of directionality and causality. More research is needed to understand the complex interactions between minority stress factors and the role of resilience in this population.