Transgender and gender diverse (TGD) adolescents face disproportionately elevated rates of body image concerns and disordered eating. For TGD youth, body esteem is closely tied to gender congruence, the alignment between one’s body and gender identity. Peer victimization may disrupt both constructs and contribute to disordered eating. The current study used multivariate latent growth curve models (MLGCMs) and random-intercept cross-lagged panel models (RI-CLPMs) to examine (1) how body esteem, gender congruence, and disordered eating co-develop over time, and (2) whether peer victimization prospectively predicts changes in these outcomes. TGD adolescents (N = 1,700; Mage = 15.75 years; 55.41% nonbinary assigned female at birth) completed anonymous online surveys at three timepoints separated by three months. Disordered eating was examined across two dimensions: caloric restriction and muscle-building. Body esteem and gender congruence increased over time; caloric restriction and muscle-building showed no average change. Increases in body esteem and gender congruence were each associated with decreases in caloric restriction. Chronic peer victimization was associated with worse body esteem and higher disordered eating at the between-person level. At the within-person level, however, fluctuations in peer victimization did not prospectively predict any outcome. Instead, higher-than-usual gender congruence prospectively predicted lower-than-usual peer victimization at the subsequent timepoint. Body esteem and gender congruence were reciprocally reinforcing over time. Findings suggest that body esteem and gender congruence may represent two facets of the same underlying experience of gender embodiment. Peer victimization functioned more as a chronic burden than an acute stressor, and gender congruence emerged as a potential protective factor against victimization itself. Affirming environments and interventions that foster gender congruence may represent a promising path to resilience for this underserved population.

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Young people in the United States are coming of age during a period marked by worsening mental health concerns and heightened sociopolitical polarization (Gimbrone et al., 2022; Office of the Surgeon General, 2021). Civic action—engagement in activism, political participation, and community involvement—has developed into a protective and promotive factor among youth of color (Diemer et al., 2021; Mathews et al., 2023). However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms and sociocultural contexts that support or constrain its development, especially among Middle Eastern and North African youth. The current concurrent mixed-methods study investigated why and how civic action shapes the mental health and well-being of youth of color. Specifically, the study examined: 1) the psychological mechanisms underlying the relationship between civic action and mental health and well-being across racial and ethnic groups, 2) contextual factors that support or constrain these processes, and 3) developmental differences in dimensions of civic action that support well-being across adolescence. Black, Latine, and Middle Eastern and North African youth (N=42, ages 12-18) were recruited from community-based organizations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Data were collected through interviews, focus groups, and surveys. Qualitative data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, and quantitative data were analyzed descriptively to contextualize the findings. Youth described civic action as fostering purpose, empowerment, and identity-based meaning. They also reported that civic action induced emotional strain. However, families, peers, mentors, and civic organizations functioned as important sources of support and safe spaces that facilitated coping and emotion regulation. In contrast, schools functioned as contested civic spaces that were not always supportive. Lastly, developmental differences emerged: younger adolescents engaged in more structured, service-oriented civic participation, whereas older adolescents engaged in more autonomous, identity-linked forms of participation characterized by greater structural critiques of social problems. Civic action appears to function as a complex developmental process for youth of color. The findings highlight the importance of cultivating individual and contextual supports that sustain healthy civic engagement and promote mental health and well-being among racially and ethnically minoritized youth, with implications for research, policy, and practice.

Dissertation Chair: Dr. Daphne A. Henry, Ph.D.

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