(PS9-65) Studying Ongoing Minority Stressors and Trauma-related Mental Health Outcomes for Trauma-exposed Sexual and Gender Minority People: The Importance of Time-varying Approaches

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals experience interpersonal traumatic stressors (e.g., physical assault, sexual violence) at higher rates than their cisgender, heterosexual counterparts, which can lead to adverse trauma-related mental health outcomes, such as dissociation. This population also experiences ongoing minority stressors (e.g., discrimination) related to their minoritized identities. Current research in SGM populations most often examines minority stress processes and trauma-related health outcomes using cross-sectional approaches, which do not capture whether minority stressors and health outcomes vary within-person over time. The present study aimed to examine whether reports of minority stressors and dissociation symptoms varied within-person across 14 days of daily diary data. Trauma-exposed sexual minority women and transgender/nonbinary individuals (N = 59) completed daily measures reporting minority stressors (possible range = 0-8) and dissociation symptoms (possible range = 0-12). Participants completed a total of 688 daily diary reports. Across the full sample, the observed range of minority stressors reported in a single day was 0 to 8. The average range of minority stressors that individual participants reported was 2.61 (SD = 1.96), meaning that on some days a participant could have reported no stressors, some days have reported one stressor, and some days have reported two stressors, for example. Across the full sample, the observed range of dissociation symptoms was 0 to 12. The average range of dissociation symptoms individual participants reported was 4.82 (SD = 2.36). This indicates that a participant could have reported a dissociation score of 6 on one day and 11 on another day, for example. These data indicate that both minority stressors and dissociation symptoms vary within individuals, even over a period of just 14 days. These variations are not observable in cross-sectional measurements, and by relying on cross-sectional approaches, we may miss how minority stressors and trauma-related health outcomes operate within the individual and unfold over time. Future research employing time-varying approaches in research with trauma-exposed SGM people should examine how ongoing minority stressors may relate to individual variation in trauma-related mental health outcomes, which could help us identify optimal avenues for intervention (e.g., just-in-time adaptive interventions).