Keywords
transgender; mental health; anti-transgender policy; discrimination; LGBTQ+ policy; survey
Abstract
During May of 2023, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed multiple bills into law, which included House Bill 1521, Senate Bill 1580, and Senate Bill 254. Critics have regarded these bills to directly discriminate against transgender individuals and negatively impact their quality of life. The main research question this project seeks to answer is what impact these bills have, if any, on transgender individuals who live in the state of Florida. This includes experiences that negatively impact quality of life outcomes and mental health disparities. An online survey of a small sample of the population that self identifies as transgender, that had lived in Florida for at least 1 month prior to and after the passing of the bills and were over 18 years old was used. Participants answered 2 sets of questions using a five-point Likert scale. One set asked about feelings and experiences prior to the passing of the bills, and the other after the passing of the bills, which included questions about mental health disparities seen commonly in transgender individuals such as depression, suicidal ideation and more. A comparison of the average Likert scale score prior to and after the passing of the bills showed a 10-20 percent increase in mental health disparities, and a large decrease in perceived ease of access to healthcare and satisfaction with state governmental support. Across the board, increases to negative mental health and quality of life outcomes were seen in our sample, which paints a troubling picture as to how these types of bills impact transgender quality of life and mental health outcomes.
Thesis Completion Year
2024
Thesis Completion Semester
Spring
Thesis Chair
Jewett, Aubrey
College
College of Sciences
Department
School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs
Thesis Discipline
Political Science
Language
English
Access Status
Open Access
Length of Campus Access
None
Campus Location
Orlando (Main) Campus
STARS Citation
Sanchez, Jaron A., "Florida’s Most Recent Anti-transgender Political Policies and Their Effects on Transgender Adults" (2024). Honors Undergraduate Theses. 8.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hut2024/8
Included in
American Politics Commons, Gender and Sexuality Commons, Policy Design, Analysis, and Evaluation Commons, Policy History, Theory, and Methods Commons, Politics and Social Change Commons, Social Policy Commons, Social Statistics Commons