Coping Strategies as a Moderator for the Association between Intimate Partner Violence and Depression and Anxiety Symptoms among Transgender Women

Abstract

Evidence suggests that intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with negative mental health outcomes. There is currently limited research on the impact of IPV on the outcomes of mental health for transgender women. The current study aimed to examine the relationship between intimate partner violence, coping skills, depression, and anxiety in a sample of transgender women. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted examining the relationship of IPV and depression and anxiety symptoms, where coping skills moderate this relationship. The results suggest that those with experiences of IPV are more likely to have symptoms of depression and anxiety. For individuals with no experiences of IPV and low depression, high levels of emotional processing coping and acceptance coping buffered this relationship. For individuals with more experiences of IPV and more depressive symptoms, coping skills did not show to buffer this relationship. These same coping skills did not show evidence for buffering anxiety symptoms for transgender women with low or high levels of IPV. The results, implications, and limitations of this study and suggestions for further research are discussed.