Abstract
Transgender women in the United States face numerous psychosocial challenges, including high rates of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), intimate partner violence (IPV), and gender-related victimization. These experiences often intersect with anti-LGBTQ+ victimization, leading to significant psychological impacts such as heightened PTSD symptoms and problematic substance use. Within marginalized groups, it is also important to consider protective factors that may alleviate the burden of minority stress, such as pride and community connectedness. This study investigates the moderating effects of pride and community connectedness on PTSD and substance use risk in 81 transgender women of varying HIV serostatus from Miami, FL. A trauma latent variable, comprising ACEs, IPV, and gender-related victimization, was created and analyzed via confirmatory factor analysis. Path analysis revealed that trauma directly predicted both PTSD and substance use risk. However, pride and community connectedness did not significantly moderate these relationships. The findings underscore the urgent need for more culturally competent research and transgender-inclusive clinical treatments to address elevated trauma and substance use rates among transgender women. Further exploration of pride, community connectedness, and additional protective factors is warranted to mitigate the negative impacts of trauma in this marginalized population.