nonprobability quotasurvey of transgender people, not of the public
Advocates for Trans Equality / NCTE
2015 U.S. Transgender Survey (USTS) · Aug 19, 2015 – Sep 21, 2015 · US national (all 50 states, DC, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas)
Not a public-opinion poll. This surveys transgender people about their own lives, mostly
through nonprobability community samples. It describes a population and is not comparable with polls of the general public.
Methodology
- Pollster
- Advocates for Trans Equality / NCTE advocacy_left
- Sponsor
- National Center for Transgender Equality
- Fielded
- Aug 19, 2015 – Sep 21, 2015
- Population
- transgender adults 18+ - nonprobability community sample, NOT a poll of the general public
- Sample size
- 27,715
- Sample frame
- nonprobability quota
- Mode
- anonymous online self-administered questionnaire (324 possible questions), English and Spanish, completable on any web-enabled device and accessible to respondents using screen readers; programmed and hosted by Rankin & Associates Consulting
- Margin of error
- not applicable - nonprobability sample; no theoretical sampling error can be calculated
- Weighting
- Weights were constructed to adjust the sample toward believed population characteristics of U.S. transgender people. NCTE writes verbatim: 'The USTS sample was a purposive sample that was created using direct outreach, modified venue-based sampling, and snowball sampling. As a non-probability sample, generalizability is limited, meaning it is unclear whether the findings presented in this report would hold true for the transgender population of the U.S. as a whole.'
- Geography
- US national (all 50 states, DC, American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and U.S. military bases overseas)
- Base notes
- Final analytic sample after 250 respondents were recoded as ineligible and removed. Over one-third of the sample identified as non-binary.
Sources
Verification note. THIS IS NOT A POLL OF THE PUBLIC. It is a nonprobability, purposive/snowball community sample of transgender adults recruited through trans and LGBTQ organizations and networks. Exact field dates ('The survey was in the field between August 19 and September 21, 2015'), sample size and the non-probability caveat were read directly from the full report PDF (endnote 4 and Appendix C, 'Weights'). Percentages read from the Executive Summary PDF.
Figures below are transcribed from these documents. Where they disagree with the source, the source governs.
Questions asked (6)
immediate family support for the respondent's transgender identity
A majority of respondents (60%) who were out to the immediate family they grew up with said that their family was generally supportive of their transgender identity, while 18% said that their family was unsupportive, and 22% said that their family was neither supportive nor unsupportive.
Wording reconstructed from: 2015 USTS Executive Summary PDF, 'Overview of Key Findings - Family Life and Faith Communities'. This is the report's narrative summary of the item; the literal questionnaire wording lives in the full report's questionnaire appendix and was not transcribed in this session.
Family generally supportive
60%
Family unsupportive
18%
Neither supportive nor unsupportive
22%
neutral — Balanced supportive/unsupportive scale with an explicit middle category.
family violence and being kicked out because of being transgender
One in ten (10%) respondents who were out to their immediate family reported that a family member was violent towards them because they were transgender. One in twelve (8%) respondents who were out to their immediate family were kicked out of the house, and one in ten (10%) ran away from home.
Wording reconstructed from: 2015 USTS Executive Summary PDF, 'Overview of Key Findings'. Report narrative, not the literal item.
A family member was violent toward them because they were transgender
10%
Ran away from home
10%
Kicked out of the house
8%
neutral — Behavioral experience item.
K-12 mistreatment of students out or perceived as transgender
The majority of respondents who were out or perceived as transgender while in school (K-12) experienced some form of mistreatment, including being verbally harassed (54%), physically attacked (24%), and sexually assaulted (13%) because they were transgender. Further, 17% experienced such severe mistreatment that they left a school as a result.
Wording reconstructed from: 2015 USTS Executive Summary PDF, p.2. Report narrative.
Verbally harassed
54%
Physically attacked
24%
Left a school because of the mistreatment
17%
Sexually assaulted
13%
neutral — Behavioral experience battery.
name and gender marker on identity documents
Only 11% of respondents reported that all of their IDs had the name and gender they preferred, while more than two-thirds (68%) reported that none of their IDs had the name and gender they preferred.
Wording reconstructed from: 2015 USTS Executive Summary PDF, 'Identity Documents'. Report narrative.
All IDs have preferred name and gender
11%
None of their IDs have preferred name and gender
68%
neutral — Factual item about respondents' own documents.
negative experiences with health care providers; care avoided from fear or cost
In the year prior to completing the survey, one-third (33%) of those who saw a health care provider had at least one negative experience related to being transgender, such as being verbally harassed or refused treatment because of their gender identity. Additionally, nearly one-quarter (23%) of respondents reported that they did not seek the health care they needed in the year prior to completing the survey due to fear of being mistreated as a transgender person, and 33% did not go to a health care provider when needed because they could not afford it.
Wording reconstructed from: 2015 USTS Executive Summary PDF, 'Harmful Effects on Physical and Mental Health'. Report narrative.
At least one negative experience related to being transgender
33%
Did not go to a provider when needed because of cost
33%
Did not seek needed health care due to fear of mistreatment
23%
neutral — Behavioral experience items.
psychological distress and lifetime suicide attempts
A staggering 39% of respondents experienced serious psychological distress in the month prior to completing the survey, compared with only 5% of the U.S. population. Among the starkest findings is that 40% of respondents have attempted suicide in their lifetime - nearly nine times the attempted suicide rate in the U.S. population (4.6%).
Wording reconstructed from: 2015 USTS Executive Summary PDF. Report narrative; distress measured with the Kessler 6 scale.
Verbally harassed in the past year because of being transgender
46%
Attempted suicide in lifetime
40%
Serious psychological distress in past month (Kessler 6)
39%
Experienced homelessness in lifetime
30%
Living in poverty
29%
Unemployed
15%
Physically attacked in the past year because of being transgender
9%
neutral — Standardized clinical scale items.