Honors College Theses

Publication Date

11-2-2020

Major

Psychology (B.S.)

Document Type and Release Option

Thesis (open access)

Faculty Mentor

Brandon J. Weiss, PhD

Abstract

The current research evaluates the mental healthcare barriers that exist for transgender/ gender non-conforming individuals versus cisgender individuals in the context of anxiety and depression. We hypothesized that non-cisgender people would have greater healthcare disparities than compared to cisgender people. The importance of this research is to further understand the healthcare gap between transgender/ gender non-conforming communities and cisgender communities. Participants (n = 532) took an online survey where they were asked a series of questions relating to how barriers to care impact mental health domains. Data was analyzed using a one-way between groups multivariate analysis of data (MANOVA) which assessed each group’s levels of social anxiety, worry, and depression. We found a significant difference in depression when comparing the cisgender and non-cisgender individuals; however, in contrast to previous literature, results also showed that there was no significant difference in social anxiety or worry between the groups. These findings further expand on the ways that mental healthcare disparities impact non-cisgender individuals and provide a basis to develop clinical programming for these people. Nonetheless, more research is needed to pinpoint the needs of this community and how the healthcare field can provide them with the most effective care.

Thesis Summary

This research examines the mental healthcare barriers that exist for transgender/gender non-conforming individuals versus cisgender individuals in an attempt to further understand the healthcare gap between these distinct populations. These findings provide new insights to address healthcare barriers and develop clinical programming and educational materials suited to this community.

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Psychology Commons

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