Ashley Kendall, PhD and colleagues examined romantic partnership status as a potential protective factor of health among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) individuals. Using U.S. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data, they conducted the first tests of partnership-health associations among TGNC individuals using health outcomes among five domains: general health, physical health, mental health, health behaviors, and health care access and utilization. Findings provide the first evidence for multidomain partnership-health associations, and differences in these associations by gender identity, among TGNC individuals. Partnership may be a protective health factor among trans women particularly and may relate to health disparity reduction between trans women and general population members. Findings encourage continued large-scale data collection on gender identity, partnership, and health.
Du Bois SN, Guy AA, Legate N, Kendall AD. Examining partnership-health associations among transgender individuals using Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. 2021;8(4):458–71.