Sánchez Francisco J, Vilain Eric
UCLA School of Medicine.
J Couns Psychol. 2009 Jan 1;56(1):202-209. doi: 10.1037/a0014573.
The fear of experiencing discrimination often provokes symptoms of psychological distress. One coping resource is positive identification with one's social group-known as collective self-esteem. This preliminary study investigated whether collective self-esteem was related to fears regarding a transsexual identity and psychological distress among 53 self-identified male-to-female transsexuals (mean age = 50.79). Participants were recruited from transgender events held in Arizona and California. The majority (81%) reported living full-time as women (mean length of time living as a woman = 6.33 years). Negative feelings about the transsexual community and fears regarding the impact of a transsexual identity were positively related to psychological distress. A regression model revealed that the fear of how a transsexual identity would affect one's life was the best predictor of the severity of psychological distress. These results are consistent with findings from other historically marginalized groups whereby the stress of being stigmatized by society adversely affects mental health.
对遭受歧视的恐惧常常引发心理困扰症状。一种应对资源是对自己社会群体的积极认同，即集体自尊。这项初步研究调查了集体自尊是否与53名自我认定为男变女的变性者（平均年龄 = 50.79岁）对变性身份的恐惧以及心理困扰有关。参与者是从在亚利桑那州和加利福尼亚州举办的跨性别活动中招募的。大多数人（81%）报告称全职以女性身份生活（平均以女性身份生活的时间 = 6.33年）。对变性群体的负面感受以及对变性身份影响的恐惧与心理困扰呈正相关。一个回归模型显示，对变性身份会如何影响自己生活的恐惧是心理困扰严重程度的最佳预测指标。这些结果与其他历史上被边缘化群体的研究结果一致，即被社会污名化的压力会对心理健康产生不利影响。
