Abstract

Purpose: This paper examines whether or not there is evidence of syndemic effects influencing suicidal ideation among transgender persons of color.
Methods: Data from the 2015 U.S. National Transgender Survey were used to examine five domains of potentially-syndemic effects (workplace issues, interactions with professionals, using public services, personal safety, socioeconomic disadvantages) in a sample of 4,842 transgender Americans aged 18 or older. A dichotomous measure of suicidal ideation during the past year was the main outcome measure.
Result: The odds of contemplating suicide increased anywhere from 14% to 120% among people experiencing any of the problems under study, and anywhere from 65% to 297% (depending upon the syndemic effect domain in question) when they were faced by all of the experiences included in any particular domain. When all items were combined, exposure to any of the domains’ problems elevated the risk of contemplating suicide by 179% and exposure to all of the problems examined increased the risk by 446%. The syndemic effects measure remained significant in multivariate analysis controlling for the influence of other potentially-relevant factors.
Conclusion: Considerable evidence for the presence of syndemic effects was found, demonstrating that the more different types of adverse conditions that transgender persons of color face, the more likely they are to experience to contemplate suicide. Younger adults, those not married/“involved,” and people who have reached specific transition milestones were at particularly high risk and, therefore, are groups in need of targeted intervention.

Keywords:Syndemic effects; Suicidal ideation; Transgender; Persons of color