Trauma, Misgendering, Invalidation, Pride, and Community Connectedness among Nonbinary Adults

Transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people experience elevated rates of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to transphobic violence, discrimination, microaggressions, and minority stress. Oppression against TNB people could also contribute to complex post-traumatic stress disorder (c-PTSD) symptoms, which arises due to exposure to prolonged and repeated trauma from a state of subordination. Nonbinary people in particular experience unique chronic minority stressors (e.g., misgendering, interpersonal invalidation) because of the assumption that gender is inherently binary. These chronic minority stressors threaten nonbinary people’s psychological and interpersonal senses of safety. This study aims to examine how misgendering and invalidation can predict PTSD and c-PTSD symptoms among nonbinary people and whether this association is moderated by pride and community connectedness. Cross-sectional data from 611 nonbinary people were analyzed using hierarchical linear regressions. Misgendering and invalidation were found to be significant predictors of PTSD and c-PTSD symptoms. However, pride and community connectedness were not significant moderators of these associations. Findings from this study contribute to the conceptualizations of traumatic stress among nonbinary people and provide considerations for more affirming trauma-informed care. Future research should explore how additional resilience factors may promote resilience and healing for nonbinary people coping with trauma.