Child Sexual Abuse as a Predictor of Multiple Forms of Victimization Among Transgender Adults in the United States

Abstract

Transgender people disproportionately experience high rates of violence across multiple contexts throughout the life course compared to cisgender individuals. Among the cisgender population, child sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with multiple forms of victimization; however, these associations have not been examined among transgender adults. This study evaluated whether transgender adults who have experienced CSA were more likely to report specific forms of victimization and cumulative experiences across types of violence (i.e., more than one type of maltreatment). We conducted a cross-sectional secondary analysis of data from a national probability sample (N = 274) of transgender adults (U.S. Transgender Population Health Survey, 2016–2018). CSA was measured using the child sexual abuse subsection of the survey’s implementation of the Center for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Adverse Childhood Sexual Experience module. Adult experiences of victimization were measured using six questions that assessed experiences of criminal victimization, harassment, and threats. Nearly half (45%) of participants reported having experienced CSA. The majority (85%) of transgender respondents reported having experienced at least one type of adult victimization, with 40% reporting four or more types of victimization (i.e., cumulative victimization). Compared to transgender adults who had never experienced CSA, transgender adults who had experienced CSA victimization were significantly more likely to have experienced individual types of physical and verbal abuse, as well as cumulative experiences of victimization. Results of this study indicate that transgender survivors of CSA, like cisgender persons, are at increased risk for specific types of victimization and cumulative experiences of victimization as adults.