Department of Family Medicine and Public Health Program, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, 1731 East 120th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90059, USA.
BMC Public Health. 2012 Aug 15;12:663. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-12-663.
This study examines exposure to perceived discrimination and its association with depression among low-income, Latina male-to-female transgender women as well as evaluates the impact of sexual partner violence and mistreatment on depression.
A total of 220 Latina male-to-female transgender women who resided in Los Angeles, California, were recruited through community based organizations and referrals. Participants completed individual interviews using a structured questionnaire. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). Perceived discrimination was assessed using a fifteen-item measure that was designed to assess the experiences of maltreatment of transgender individuals. Multinomial logistic regression was used to examine the association between perceived discrimination and depression after controlling for the presence of other variables.
Of the sample, 35% reported significant depressive symptoms (PHQ-9 ≥ 15). Additionally, one-third of the participants indicated that in the two weeks prior to the interviews they had thought either of hurting themselves or that they would be better off dead. The extent of perceived discrimination in this population was extensive. Many of the participants experienced discrimination on a daily basis (14%) or at least once or twice a week (25%) as demonstrated by a positive response to at least 7 of 15 items in the measure of perceived discrimination. Almost six out of ten participants admitted that they had been victims of sexual partner violence. Those who reported more frequent discrimination were more likely to be identified with severe depression. There was also a notable association between self-reported history of sexual partner violence and depression severity.
A significant association between depression severity and perceived discrimination was identified. How exposure to discrimination leads to increased risk of mental health problems needs additional investigation. Models investigating the association between perceived discrimination and depression among transgender women should include sexual partner violence as a potential confounding variable.
本研究考察了低收入、拉丁裔跨性别女性中感知到的歧视及其与抑郁的关系，以及评估性伴侣暴力和虐待对抑郁的影响。
共有 220 名居住在加利福尼亚州洛杉矶的拉丁裔跨性别女性通过社区组织和推荐招募。参与者通过结构化问卷完成个人访谈。使用患者健康问卷（PHQ-9）评估抑郁症状。使用十五项措施评估感知歧视，旨在评估跨性别者受虐待的经历。在控制其他变量的存在后，使用多项逻辑回归来检查感知歧视与抑郁之间的关联。
在样本中，35%的人报告有明显的抑郁症状（PHQ-9≥15）。此外，三分之一的参与者表示，在接受采访前两周，他们要么想伤害自己，要么认为自己死了会更好。该人群中感知到的歧视程度很广泛。许多参与者每天（14%）或至少每周一次或两次（25%）都会经历歧视，这表现为对感知歧视措施中的至少 7 个项目做出肯定回应。近十分之六的参与者承认自己曾遭受过性伴侣暴力。报告歧视频率较高的人更有可能被诊断为严重抑郁。自我报告的性伴侣暴力史与抑郁严重程度之间也存在显著关联。
确定了抑郁严重程度与感知歧视之间存在显著关联。接触歧视如何导致心理健康问题风险增加需要进一步研究。在跨性别女性中调查感知歧视与抑郁之间关系的模型应将性伴侣暴力作为潜在的混杂变量包括在内。
