Minority Stress Theory's Constructs for Transgender College Students in the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Making Good Trouble: Thinking With Abolition, Cultural Capital, Transgender Studies, and Student Agency

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to develop valid and reliable factors to operationalize latent constructs within minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003, 2015) for trans students using data from the 2015 US Transgender Survey. We identified and recoded variables that measure distal stressors, proximal stressors, and resilience factors and conducted a confirmatory factor analysis for a sample of college-age participants with at least some college experience. Table 2 contains factor loadings and Cronbach (1951) alpha coefficients for all three constructs, each demonstrating moderate theoretical convergence and construct validity. Our intended audience is quantitative education researchers, and we hope they can utilize these latent constructs for future studies that seek to create equitable education systems for trans students.

Authors

• C. V. Dolan, The University of Vermont

• Mario I Suárez, Utah State University

• Jason C. Garvey, University of Vermont