State-Level Policy Environments, Discrimination, and Victimization among Sexual and Gender Minority People

Kristen D. Clark (), Mitchell R. Lunn, Eliot M. Lev, Michael A. Trujillo, Micah E. Lubensky, Matthew R. Capriotti, Thomas J. Hoffmann, Juno Obedin-Maliver and Annesa Flentje
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Kristen D. Clark: Department of Nursing, University of New Hampshire, Durham, NH 03824, USA
Mitchell R. Lunn: The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA
Eliot M. Lev: Department of Community Health Systems, University of California San Francisco School of Nursing, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Michael A. Trujillo: Department of Psychology, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA
Micah E. Lubensky: The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA
Matthew R. Capriotti: Department of Psychology, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA 95192, USA
Thomas J. Hoffmann: Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco School of Medicine San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, USA
Juno Obedin-Maliver: The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA
Annesa Flentje: The PRIDE Study/PRIDEnet, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA 94304, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 16, 1-16

Abstract: Legislation has been passed in some states to reduce discrimination and victimization toward sexual and gender minority people (SGM; people who are not solely heterosexual and/or whose gender identity is not equal to what is socially associated with sex assigned at birth). The purpose of these analyses is to test whether state-level policy environments are associated with past-year discrimination and victimization among SGM people. Cross-sectional data from The Population Research in Identity and Disparities for Equality (PRIDE) Study annual questionnaire (collected 2018–2019), a national study of the health of SGM adults in the USA, were used for these analyses. Measures included related to discrimination, victimization, and demographic characteristics. State-level policy environments were measured using data from the Movement Advancement Project. Logistic regression analyses evaluated state-level policy environment scores and past-year discrimination and victimization among gender identity categories. In this sample, 7044 people (gender minority n = 2530) were included. Cisgender sexual minority (odds ratio [OR] = 1.007, p = 0.041) and the gender expansive subgroup of gender minority people (OR = 1.010, p = 0.047) in states with more protective policy environments had greater odds of discrimination. The gender expansive subgroup was found to have greater odds of victimization in states with more protective policy environments (OR = 1.003, p < 0.05). There was no relationship between state-level policy environments and victimization among any other study groups. SGM people may experience increased risk for discrimination and victimization despite legislative protections, posing continued risks for poor health outcomes and marginalization. Evaluation of factors (e.g., implementation strategies, systems of accountability) that influence the effectiveness of state-level polices on the reported experiences of discrimination and victimization among SGM people is needed.

Keywords: policy; sexual and gender minority; LGBT; stigma; discrimination; victimization (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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