Grant: Master's Award: Canada Graduate Research Scholarships - Master's program

Transgender and nonbinary young adults are at an increased risk of suicide and suicidal ideation. This is exacerbated by the recent increase in violence and political hostility against this community. Gender minority stress is shown to increase suicidal ideation and worsen mental health outcomes. While research is done into potential buffers, such as resilience and social support, and risk factors such as rumination and internalization, little research investigates the distinct interactions of these variables in their influence on the relationship between suicidal ideation and minority stress. Furthermore, while research shows that daily stress is linked to increased suicidal ideation generally, no studies compare the effects of minority stress and daily stress on suicidal ideation in transgender and nonbinary persons. The proposed study will use path analysis to test the first gender minority stress model explaining how minority stress, daily stress, adaptive and maladaptive coping profiles, and social support interact in their relationship to suicidal ideation in trans and nonbinary young adults. Path analysis will test simultaneous direct and indirect effects, often overlooked in previous research, and identify coping mechanisms that most meaningfully buffer the effects of stress. The aim is to deepen understanding of how different internal and external skills and resources influence suicidality among transgender and nonbinary persons, using a framework that enables meaningful application of results to policy and care. The findings from this study can be used to develop screening tools and cost-effective, social support and coping skill-focused interventions for trans and nonbinary young adults at risk of suicide.