Mental health and subjective well-being of trans and non-binary population in Colombia

Reyes, MF ORCID: 0000-0002-2645-5092, Levy, N, Salamanca, DM, Lyons, M ORCID: 0000-0002-9553-9767 and Leongómez, J-D ORCID: 0000-0002-0092-6298 (2025) Mental health and subjective well-being of trans and non-binary population in Colombia. Neuroscience, 590. pp. 72-82. ISSN 0306-4522

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Abstract

Transgender and non-binary (TGNC) individuals are disproportionately affected by poor mental health and structural inequalities, particularly in low- and middle-income countries where empirical research remains scarce. This exploratory study examined psychosocial and health-related correlates of subjective well-being (SWB), including life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect, among 287 TGNC individuals in Colombia. Using a multi-model inference approach to reach a likely consensus across more than 32,000 candidate models, we found that community cohesion, self-efficacy, and social support consistently related to higher life satisfaction and positive affect, while depression and disease burden were linked to lower SWB. Negative affect was positively associated with depression and age, and negatively with education. Although the sample was non-probabilistic and not representative of the broader TGNC population in Colombia, the prevalence of clinically significant depression and widespread discrimination were shocking. These findings are not intended as confirmatory but offer hypotheses about potential pathways through which individual and community factors may influence well-being in TGNC populations.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Colombia; Community cohesion; Mental health; Subjective well-being; Transgender and non-binary; 1109 Neurosciences; 1701 Psychology; 1702 Cognitive Sciences; Neurology & Neurosurgery; 3209 Neurosciences; 5202 Biological psychology
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology H Social Sciences > H Social Sciences (General)
Divisions:	Psychology (from Sep 2019)
Publisher:	Elsevier BV
Date of acceptance:	21 October 2025
Date Deposited:	10 Nov 2025 12:50
Last Modified:	10 Nov 2025 13:00
DOI or ID number:	10.1016/j.neuroscience.2025.10.039
URI:	https://researchonline.ljmu.ac.uk/id/eprint/27538

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