ABSTRACT

While the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States disproportionately impacts marginalized communities, no empiric US-based research has focused specifically on transgender and gender nonbinary (TGNB) people. We examined the pandemic’s impact on an established longitudinal cohort of TGNB individuals (N = 208) by administering an online survey between March-June 2020. We used multivariable linear regression to examine reduced LGBTQ/TGNB community support and disruptions in gender-affirming health care as predictors of psychological distress during the pandemic. We found that the pandemic exacerbated ongoing mental health disparities for TGNB individuals. Furthermore, reduced LGBTQ/TGNB support was associated with increased psychological distress during the pandemic. Interruption and/or delay in gender-affirming health care was not associated with increased psychological distress during the pandemic. Special attention is needed to address the unique ways in which TGNB individuals were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. This includes increasing access to LGBTQ/TGNB community support and addressing long-standing health disparities.

摘要

尽管美国的 COVID-19 大流行对边缘化社区产生了不成比例的影响，但没有任何基于美国的经验性研究专门针对跨性别和非二元性别 (TGNB) 人群。我们检查了大流行对已建立的 TGNB 个体纵向队列的影响（N= 208) 通过在 2020 年 3 月至 6 月之间进行在线调查。我们使用多元线性回归来检查 LGBTQ/TGNB 社区支持的减少和性别确认医疗保健的中断，作为大流行期间心理困扰的预测因素。我们发现，大流行加剧了 TGNB 个人持续存在的心理健康差异。此外，减少对 LGBTQ/TGNB 的支持与大流行期间心理压力的增加有关。性别确认医疗保健的中断和/或延迟与大流行期间心理压力的增加无关。需要特别注意解决 TGNB 个人受 COVID-19 大流行影响的独特方式。这包括增加获得 LGBTQ/TGNB 社区支持的机会和解决长期存在的健康差异。