Introduction: Transgender people experience health inequities, and stigma often plays an outsize role in shaping the health and lived experiences of transgender persons. We aimed to systematically review the research literature to understand how transphobia is measured and its impacts on the health of trans populations.
Methods: We conducted a systematic search using PRISMA guidelines. Titles and abstracts of articles, and full texts, were screened for inclusion. We extracted the study characteristics, populations, methods, transphobia measurement, health outcomes of study, and the relationship between transphobia and health and created evidence gap maps using R.
Results: This review found 187 studies that measured transphobia and its associations with mental health, substance intake, and physical health outcomes. Transphobia was predominately studied at the individual, interpersonal, and organizational levels. The Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure and the Everyday Discrimination Scale were the most recurring scales used to measure transphobia. Victimization, internalized transphobia, and institutional discrimination were the most reported types of transphobia. Across a majority of studies, transphobias were positively associated with poor health outcomes, with heavy emphasis on mental health outcomes, as well as substance intake. Large gaps existed with regard to physical health.
Conclusions: Transphobia negatively impacts the mental health of trans people and often creates elevated substance use. Gaps exist in the measurement of transphobia at the community, organizational and structural levels, and in relation to physical health outcomes. (author abstract)