TransPop, United States, 2016-2018 (ICPSR 37938)

Time Period(s) View help for Time Period(s)

Date of Collection View help for Date of Collection

Data Collection Notes View help for Data Collection Notes

Study Purpose View help for Study Purpose

This study is the first national probability sample of transgender individuals in the U.S. and thus will be provide a more accurate and detailed picture of the issues faced by transgender people. To date, what researchers know about the transgender population comes from studies that do not use random selection methods. While those studies provided valuable information about transgender lives, they may not accurately represent the population. With a probability sample, this study provides researchers and policy makers with unbiased estimates about demographics, health outcomes and well-being, and health care needs of the transgender population, which will be crucial for designing evidence-based public health and policy interventions.

TransPop Study aims to...

• Describe demographic parameters of the U.S. transgender population, such as race/ethnicity, age, gender identity, education, employment, etc.
• Describe basic health outcomes and health behaviors, such as health status, health care access, quality of life, etc.
• Describe experiences of transgender people with interpersonal and institutional discrimination in areas such as healthcare, employment, housing, etc.
• Describe transgender identity history and transition-related experiences.

Study Design View help for Study Design

Two data sources contribute to the TransPop study. The first source is the TransPop survey, which was administered to transgender people, including gender nonbinary people who identify as transgender (but not gender nonbinary individuals who did not identify as transgender). The second data source includes a national probability sample of cisgender respondents, collected for comparison to the TransPop sample. The transgender and cisgender data sources were combined to create one dataset that includes both samples. This dataset is described in more detail on page 5 of the User Guide.

Sample View help for Sample

TransPop Sample:

Period 1:

The Period 1 sample was recruited between April 2016 and August 2016. In total, 149,593 participants were screened by Gallup for inclusion in the study, of which 185 (0.12%) were classified as transgender and eligible to participate in the study. Of those eligible, 136 (73.5%) agreed to participate in the survey and of those, 56 (41.2%) completed the survey, for a total response rate of 30.3% (among those initially eligible).

Period 2:

The Period 2 sample was recruited between June 2017 and December 2018. In total, 432,251 participants were screened by Gallup for inclusion in the study, of which 929 (0.21%) were classified as transgender and eligible to participate in the study. Of those eligible, 668 (71.9%) agreed to participate in the survey and of those, 270 (40.4%) completed the survey, for a total response rate of 28.7% (among those initially eligible). The final TransPop sample size is 274.

Cisgender Sample:

The cisgender sample was recruited between February 19-23, 2018 and November 12- December 10, 2018. In total, 4,020 participants were screened by Gallup for inclusion in the study. In total, 87.6% (N = 3,523) were eligible to participate based on the final eligibility criteria. Of those eligible, 2,548 (72.3%) agreed to participate in the survey and of those, 1,184 (46.7%) completed the survey, for a total response rate of 33.6% (among those initially eligible). Of these, 22 respondents were dropped due to missing data leaving a final sample size of 1,162.

Further sampling information, including demographics, can be found on pages 14-20 of the user guide.

Time Method View help for Time Method

Universe View help for Universe

Transgender and cisgender adults age 18 and above who live in the U.S.

Unit(s) of Observation View help for Unit(s) of Observation

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Mode of Data Collection View help for Mode of Data Collection

Description of Variables View help for Description of Variables

Variables include demographic information, community characteristics, sexual attraction and activity, other's perception of respondent's gender, interest in and access to gender-affirming treatment, health care access and general health status, mental health, violence victimization, discrimination, employment, housing, and other general questions about the transgender experience. Some variables primarily relevant to transgender respondents are omitted from the cisgender data.

Response Rates View help for Response Rates

The Period 1 sample was recruited between April 2016 and August 2016. In total, 149,593 participants were screened by Gallup for inclusion in the study, of which 185 (0.12%) were classified as transgender and eligible to participate in the study. Of those eligible, 136 (73.5%) agreed to participate in the survey and of those, 56 (41.2%) completed the survey, for a total response rate of 30.3% (among those initially eligible).

The Period 2 sample was recruited between June 2017 and December 2018. In total, 432,251 participants were screened by Gallup for inclusion in the study, of which 929 (0.21%) were classified as transgender and eligible to participate in the study. Of those eligible, 668 (71.9%) agreed to participate in the survey and of those, 270 (40.4%) completed the survey, for a total response rate of 28.7% (among those initially eligible).

The final TransPop sample size is 274. The cisgender sample was recruited between February 19-23, 2018 and November 12- December 10, 2018. In total, 4,020 participants were screened by Gallup for inclusion in the study. In total, 87.6% (N = 3,523) were eligible to participate based on the final eligibility criteria. Of those eligible, 2,548 (72.3%) agreed to participate in the survey and of those, 1,184 (46.7%) completed the survey, for a total response rate of 33.6% (among those initially eligible). Of these, 22 respondents were dropped due to missing data leaving a final sample size of 1,162.

Presence of Common Scales View help for Presence of Common Scales

Several items from the TransPop study are part of validated scales, designed to measure constructs relevant to identity, stress, and health. Each of the scales within the TransPop survey have been calculated from individual variables, according to published instructions, detailed below. Two calculated variables are included in the dataset for each of the scales: an un-imputed version and an imputed version. The unimputed version has missing values for participants who were missing on one or more items that make up the scale. The imputed variable has no missing values. The steps taken to create each scale are described on page 26 of the Survey Methods document.

These scales include:

• Social Well-being
• Satisfaction with life
• Multi-group ethnic identity
• Community connectedness
• Non-affirmation of gender identity (transgender sample only)
• Healthcare stereotype threat (Transgender sample only)
• Psychological Distress, Kessler-6
• Alcohol Use (AUDIT-C)
• Drug Use Disorders Identification Test (DUDIT)
• Internalized transphobia (Transgender sample only)
• Everyday discrimination
• Chronic strains
• Childhood gender nonconformity
• Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE)
• Gender identity non-disclosure (Transgender sample only)
• Negative expectations of the future (Transgender sample only)
• Social support

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2021-06-23

Version History View help for Version History

Weight View help for Weight

Both the TransPop and Cisgender datasets have the same variable named WEIGHT as the weighting variable. The combination datasets have a set of three weight variables (WEIGHT_TRANSPOP, WEIGHT_CISGENDER, WEIGHT_CISGENDER_TRANSPOP). The results will be representative of the sample when the weight is applied. Pages 41 and 42 of the user guide contain instructions that detail how to apply the final sample weight using Stata or SPSS.