Relationship of self-compassion and level of outness with emotional distress in transgender individuals
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship of self-compassion and level of outness, as well as influential demographics of transgender individuals with emotional distress in a sample of 234 transgender individuals. Participants completed an on-line survey including a demographics page as well as information on their status of their transition, along with the Self-Compassion Scale, an adapted version of the Outness Inventory, and the Depression Anxiety, and Stress Scale-21. The results of this study indicated that overall self-compassion as well as outness as transgender were significantly and negatively related to emotional distress. Higher levels of self-compassion and outness as transgender were associated with less emotional distress for the transgender people in this study. Aspects of self-compassion including self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness subscales were significantly and negatively related to emotional distress. Self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification subscales were significantly and positively related to emotional distress. Demographic characteristics of the sample including age, income, educational level, and sexual orientation were significant predictors of emotional distress in this sample and accounted for approximately 26% of the variance in emotional distress scores. Being older, more educated, having more income, and identifying as heterosexual was associated with less emotional distress. Of interest, sex at birth and race were not significantly related to emotional distress for this sample. After statistically controlling for the demographic variables that were significantly related to emotional distress, overall self-compassion was a significant predictor of emotional distress, accounting for approximately 28% of the variance, but outness as a transgender person was not a significant predictor of emotional distress. Self-compassion was also significantly and positively related to outness as transgender. The six aspects of self-compassion accounted for 10% of the variance in outness in the regression findings. Transgender individuals may benefit from mindfulness-based and self-compassionate interventions, with less emphasis on the coming out process, depending on the needs of the client, to help them cope with their emotions such as depression, anxiety, and stress. Implications for further research include more qualitative and quantitative studies to better understand the importance of self-compassion in transgender people’s lives and to explore the complexities of the coming out process as a transgender individual, including how the coming out process impacts the emotional distress of transgender individuals given the discrimination and pressure they experience in society.
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- OSU Dissertations [11222]