Upwards of half of transgender individuals in the United States will experience abuse by a romantic or sexual partner in their lifetimes ( James et al., 2016). This intimate partner violence (IPV) can include psychological (that is, verbal or controlling), physical, or sexual abuse, as well as antitransgender identity abuse (hereafter termed ‘identity abuse’) whereby the abuser leverages the survivor's transgender status as a means of control. Research on smaller transgender samples indicates that IPV victimization is associated with an increased risk of several adverse health conditions (AHCs), including but not limited to negative mental health effects, substance use, and poor physical health (for example, Messinger & Guadalupe-Diaz, 2020; Peitzmeier et al., 2020). However, research with more representative transgender samples is needed to verify these associations. Additionally, the transgender IPV literature has not examined the possible associations between the full range of IPV forms and AHC types, nor between IPV forms and the number of different AHC types experienced. Clarifying the connections between distinct IPV forms and AHC types will have important implications for transgender-specific screening protocols and service provision.

Through a secondary analysis of the 2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) – the largest national sample of transgender individuals to date (N = 27,715; James et al., 2016) – the current paper elucidates the connection between IPV form and AHC type. Controlling for demographics, regressions assessed whether type of IPV (identity, controlling, physical, and sexual) each predict several AHCs – psychological distress, suicidal ideation, illicit drug use, prescription drug misuse, binge alcohol use, poor general health, and HIV positive status – as well as the number of different AHC types experienced.

Adverse health conditions (AHCs) and IPV victimization

Research on predominantly cisgender survivors has found IPV victimization to be associated with poor mental and physical health as well as alcohol and substance use, with scholars positing that these associations are a direct outcome of or coping mechanisms for IPV victimization (Carbone-Lopez et al., 2006; Devries et al., 2014; Cafferky et al., 2016). Although one may speculate that similar patterns exist for transgender survivors, IPV–AHC links may actually be weaker among transgender populations, where baseline rates of depression, suicidal ideation, and substance use are reported to be higher than for cisgender populations (Benotsch et al., 2013; Tebbe & Moradi, 2016).