XVII Harry Benjamin International Gender Dysphoria Association Symposium
31 October - 4 November 2001, Galveston, Texas, U.S.A.

You’ve Got a Friend? The Impact of Transgender Discrimination and Social Support on Unsafe Sex

BOCKTING, WALTER U.S.A.
Co-authors: Beatrice Robinson, Dawn Brintnell, Noelle Gray & Jendeen Forberg (U.S.A.)
E-mail: wbocktng@famprac.umn.edu

Introduction: Focus group research on the HIV prevention needs of the transgender community suggests that stigma and discrimination contribute to transgender individuals’ HIV risk. Using pre-test data of our All Gender Health seminar participants (N=113), we investigated the association between discrimination because of one’s transgender identity, social support, and unsafe sex.

Sample: All Gender Health is a transgender-specific HIV/STD prevention intervention targeting Minnesota’s transgender community. Mean age of participants was 42 years old (SD=11.6, range 17-73); the majority was Caucasian (88%). Eighty-five percent was male-to-male and 15% female-to-male transgender; 62% was attracted to women, 22% to men, and 16% to both women and men.

Analysis and results: We conducted a logistic regression analysis using discrimination (in the areas of employment, housing, and health care) and social support (peer, community, and family support) as predictors of unprotected anal or vaginal sex. Results showed that participants who reported higher levels of discrimination and lower levels of social support were 1.4 times more likely to have unsafe sex (p=.050, 95% CI (1.0,1.8)). A trend was found for participants who were more "out" about their transgender identity (to family, friends, or co-workers) to be 1.2 times less likely to have unsafe sex (p=.075, 95% CI (1.-, 1.4)).

Conclusion: Social support emerged as a potential factor to buffer the negative impact of discrimination on unsafe sex among transgender individuals. HIV prevention interventions targeting this community should consider building social support networks and foster transgender coming out. Future research is needed to replicate this preliminary finding and understand the mechanisms in which discrimination and support impact HIV risk.