Developing an adapted gender minority stress and resilience model to explain alcohol use and harms among transgender youth who drink

Aim: To examine experiences leading up to the occasions that transgender youth drink alcohol (such as victimization and discrimination), experiences while they drink (such as mood and drug effects), and experiences after they drink (such as harms, like a hangover, missing school or work, having a fight), using cell phone-based surveys.

Principal Investigator(s): Sarah S. Dermody; Alex Abramovich (Previous Member of the Trans Research Committee*)

Community Partners/Advisors/Knowledge Users: Christina Yager (CAMH), Theo Quinn, Christian Hendershot, Trevor Hart, Elizabeth Saewyc, Jeffrey Wardell

Funded by CIHR

*About The Trans Research Committee: The Trans Research Group is a transgender and non-binary (TGNB) led committee that aims to expand TGNB-centered research, aid in social and policy changes, and ultimately have a positive impact on the community. The group's research acknowledges the lived experiences of transgender, non-binary, and intersex community members and researchers. The research is guided by a theoretical framework that includes minority stress, resilience, intersectionality, and interpersonal and professional relationships.

Currently, the commitee is focusing on research that promotes a greater understanding of the social determinants of health that impact transgender folks, with the greater goal of informing policies, practices, and TGNB-centered programs that can support the trans and non-binary community.

Related Publications

Dermody, S. S., Uhrig, A., Wardell, J. D., Tellez, C., Raessi, T., Kovacek, K., Hart, T. A., Hendershot, C. S., & Abramovich, A. (2024). Daily and momentary associations between gender minority stress and resilience with alcohol outcomes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 58(6), 401–411. https://doi.org/10.1093/abm/kaae015

Fahey, K.L., Kovacek, K., Abramovich, A., Dermody, S.S. (2023). Substance use prevalence, patterns, and correlates in transgender and gender diverse youth: A scoping review. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2023.110880

Dermody, S.S., Uhrig, A., Moore, A., Raessi, T., & Abramovich, A. (2023). A narrative systematic review of the gender inclusivity of measures of harmful drinking and their psychometric properties among transgender adults. Addiction. https://doi.org/10.1111/add.16212

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