Coping strategies employed by transgender youth with higher and lower quality of life

Abstract Transgender youth are especially susceptible and vulnerable to mental health concerns. Minority Stress Theory may explain these mental health concerns and avoidance to seek healthcare provision in this population. Understanding transgender youth adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms may help create strategies that promote quality of life and reduce the negative influence of stress on their mental health. Our study aims to measure the quality of life of Brazilian binary and non-binary transgender youth and analyze the association with their coping strategies used for dealing with general social and gender-related stress. Participants were recruited through Facebook advertisement directed to young Brazilians, aged from 16 to 24 years, who “liked” pages or joined groups related to LGBTQ+ movement. Gender identity was evaluated by the Two Steps Method. Coping was evaluated by the Coping with Stress Checklist; and quality of life, by the Quality of My Life questionnaire. The final sample consisted of 185 participants. Out of the total, 95 (46.34%) identified as transgender boys, 45 (21.95%) as transgender girls, and 65 (31.71%) as non-binary youth. The mean age was 18.61 years (SD 2.43). The study found that 53.9% of the sample had low self-perceived quality of life, 48.0% depression, and 68.3% anxiety. Better quality of life was related to socialization (p=0.02), whereas a worse quality of life was related to avoidance attitudes (p=0.05), concerning coping with general stress. The study found no association between coping strategies for gender-related stress and quality of life. The Brazilian transgender youth may need support to develop adaptive coping skills to deal with both general and gender-related stress. Also, social interventions against prejudice are needed to achieve better results in the quality of life for transgender youth. Mental health professionals should explore the unique needs and stressors of transgender identity and explore adaptive coping strategies.