TGD Validation Study

The purpose of this study is to validate existing alcohol-use and harms, cannabis-use and intimate partner violence measures in transgender and gender diverse (TGD) populations. Existing measures used to assess alcohol consumption, problematic drinking, and intimate partner violence (IPV) have been developed and validated primarily in cisgender heterosexual and queer populations, raising concerns about their applicability to TGD individuals. 

Validating a measure essentially aims to discover whether the measure itself actually measures what it aims to (e.g., harmful alcohol use). Once validated, measures may then be re-validated amongst specific groups (e.g., do the current measures that assess harmful alcohol use in the general population apply to TGD individuals, or do the measures need to be updated to address unique needs?) We have already adapted one current alcohol use measure for TGD groups to validate in this study, as informed by findings from the PACT Youth Pilot study.

We also want to better understand the implications of the current anti-trans political climate on the health and well-being of TGD people in both Canada and the United States. We created a new measure to assess gender minority stress as it relates to ongoing anti-trans rhetoric, and will be testing it in this study for validation (i.e., to assess whether the measure accurately captures and measures gender minority stress as it relates to anti-trans politics). Questions in this measure were informed by preliminary findings from the PACT Adult Study, with input from The Garden.

This is our first international study!