# Interpersonal Protective Factors and Mental Health Symptom Self-Management Among Black Transgender Women: A Mixed-Methods Study

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $48,974

## Abstract

Proposal Summary
Protective factors across the life course can have profound effects on individual health. It has been well
established that adverse childhood experiences and lifetime exposure to discrimination and victimization have
negative mental and physical health effects. For women who are Black and transgender, adversity can be
compounded by the intersectional impact of racism and gender-based discrimination. A constellation of
interpersonal protective factors throughout the lifespan, including positive childhood experiences, family
acceptance, and social support, may help to improve mental health outcomes among individuals as they
experience adversity throughout the life course. Additionally, mental health symptom self-management may
moderate the relationship between Black transgender women's experiences with protective factors and current
psychological distress symptoms. Self-management, defined as drawing upon one's own ability to promote
health or manage disease, may be instrumental in improving mental health outcomes and could be vital for this
population due to significant known barriers to healthcare engagement. However, there is limited exploration of
protective factors and self-management on mental health outcomes among Black transgender women. To
address this gap, a convergent mixed-methods study is proposed to increase our understanding of how protective
factors are associated with mental health self-management and psychological distress among Black transgender
women. This training grant, nested within a larger parent study, takes a strengths-based approach to examine
complex relationships between the variables of interest. The specific aims are: Aim 1. Determine the associations
among interpersonal protective factors (i.e., positive childhood experiences, perceived family acceptance, and
current social support) and current symptoms of psychological distress for Black transgender women (N=150).
Aim 2. Determine the role of mental health self-management in moderating the associations between
interpersonal protective factors, symptoms of depression, and symptoms of PTSD. Aim 3. Use thematic content
analysis of in-depth interviews with 30 Black transgender women from Aim 1 to analyze how interpersonal
protective factors influenced Black transgender women's abilities to self-manage psychological distress
symptoms. Findings will inform future recommendations for interventions aimed at decreasing the harmful
effects of adversity and discrimination for racially diverse transgender youth and adults.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10878690
- **Project number:** 5F31NR020760-02
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Meredith Klepper
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $48,974
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2023-07-01 → 2025-03-21

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10878690

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10878690, Interpersonal Protective Factors and Mental Health Symptom Self-Management Among Black Transgender Women: A Mixed-Methods Study (5F31NR020760-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10878690. Licensed CC0.

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