How does discrimination and emotional intelligence predict affective symptoms in transgender people? The role of subtle discrimination and emotional attention, clarity and repair

Transgender people experience higher levels of symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress than the general population. This distress has been linked to the different forms of discrimination that transgender people often experience. Emotional intelligence could be a factor protecting the mental health, but studies focusing on protective factors are scarce. The purpose was to analyze the impact of perceived discrimination and emotional intelligence on affective symptoms in transgender people. The participants were 115 Spanish adults aged 18-64 years (26.1% transgender women, 47.8% transgender men, 20.9% non-binary transgender people; 5.2% questioning their gender). Participants completed validated questionnaires to assess affective symptoms, discrimination and emotional intelligence. Hierarchical linear regressions and qualitative comparative analyses (QCA) were performed. The results of hierarchical regressions showed that subtle individual discrimination was a positive predictor of affective symptoms. Emotional repair was a negative predictor of depression, while emotional attention was a positive predictor of stress. The QCA results showed that subtle individual discrimination appeared in the main pathways of high and low levels of affective symptoms. Also, emotional attention and repair differed in their functioning according to the combination of variables. The impact of subtle discrimination and emotional regulation on transgender people’s mental health is clear.