Daily minority stressors, threat appraisal, and identity concealment among trauma-exposed sexual minority women and transgender and gender-diverse people.

Abstract

Recent calls have been made to decolonize White-dominated, Western narratives around concealment (e.g., that disclosure should be prioritized) and instead to examine psychosocial factors associated with concealment. Existing literature lacks exploration into daily variations of sexual or gender identity concealment (hereafter, "concealment") among sexual and gender minority people, especially sexual minority women (SMW) and transgender and gender-diverse (TGD) individuals who have experienced trauma. Additionally, there is little research delving into individual characteristics, such as trait-based avoidance coping, and specific contexts, including daily minority stressors and threat appraisal, prompting trauma-exposed SMW and TGD people to conceal their identities. Addressing these gaps, we aimed to develop and test an innovative model that advances stress and coping frameworks by integrating minority stress and social safety theories. We used data from a 14-day intensive longitudinal study among 57 trauma-exposed SMW and TGD people. Minority stressors and threat appraisal were associated with concealment at both the within- and between-person levels, respectively. Trait-based general avoidance coping predicted identity concealment and moderated the link between daily minority stressors and concealment. Daily minority stressors were associated with greater concealment only among those who reported lower avoidance coping. Concealment may operate as an experiential avoidance behavior among those who habitually cope by using avoidance and as a goal-directed coping response among trauma-exposed SMW and TGD people who face acute minority stressors and report less avoidance coping. Counseling psychologists exploring the function of concealment with trauma-exposed SMW and TGD people should attend to stigma exposure, threat appraisal, and avoidance coping. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).