Gender Identity Conversion Efforts As a Source of Minority Stress among Transgender and Nonbinary Persons Living in the U.S.: Correlation with Wellbeing and Proximal Stressors

Gender identity change efforts (GICE) aim to change one’s gender identity to be congruent with sex assigned at birth. Practicing conversion efforts with minors is outlawed for licensed professionals in many U.S. jurisdictions, yet it remains legal in many other jurisdictions and for religious counselors. Literature remains scant but points to a harmful role GICE may play in the lives of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) persons. We examine how GICE is associated with mental and physical wellbeing and proximal minority stressors among TNB persons. Using the U.S. TransPop online survey data (2016–2018) collected from 271 TNB adults, we conducted multivariate regression models examining the association between GICE exposure and psychological distress (Kessler-6), past 30-day physical and mental health, healthcare-related stigma anticipation, and proximal stressors (i.e., negative future expectation, nondisclosure of gender identity, and internalized transphobia). Covariates included race, age, gender identity, education level, census poverty level, and sexual orientation. The average participant was 39 years old and identified as a transgender woman (44