The Validation of the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure and Mental Health Among Chinese Transgender and Gender Nonconforming People

Abstract

Purpose: Gender minority stress is a key factor contributing to mental health problems among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people. The Gender and Minority Stress and Resilience Measure (GMSR) is a valid instrument to assess distal stressors (discrimination, rejection, victimization, and nonaffirmation), proximal stressors (internalized transphobia, negative expectations, and nondisclosure), and resilience factors (pride and community connectedness) in Western societies. This study aimed to examine the psychometric characteristics of the Chinese version of the GMSR and mental health in Chinese TGNC people. Methods: A total of 282 (Meanage=20.9, Standard deviation=5.02) Chinese TGNC individuals completed measures of the GMSR, Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Results: The confirmatory factor analysis showed that a Chinese revision of the 42-item GMSR with 9-factor model had adequate fit to the data. All the stressors were positively correlated with mental health problems. However, pride and community connectedness were not associated with mental health problems. Three stressors (rejection, nonaffirmation, and negative expectations) were negatively correlated with social support, and both pride and community connectedness were positively correlated with social support. All correlations between constructs were below 0.60. The criterion and convergent and discriminant validities of the Chinese version of the GMSR were greatly supported. Moreover, in line with the minority stress model, distal stressors had a significant indirect effect on mental health problems through proximal stressors. Conclusion: Our results validate a revised 42-item Chinese version of the GMSR, which indicated the cross-cultural validation of the gender minority stress model in China.