(PS6-46) Social Support and Resilience Contribute to Explaining the Beneficial Role of Self-Compassion in Psychological Symptoms among Transgender and Non-Binary Spanish-Speaking Youth

Abstract Text: Transgender and non-binary (TNB) youth frequently encounter stressful situations, including stigma, discrimination, prejudice, and victimization, all of which contribute to psychological distress. Therefore, it is essential to identify protective factors for this population that can be cultivated through interventions. Previous research has identified self-compassion as a potential buffer against psychological symptoms in TNB youth. This cross-sectional study aimed to identify mechanisms through which self-compassion is associated with lower levels of psychological symptoms. It was hypothesized that self-compassion would be linked to lower symptom levels through greater perceived social support and individual-level resilience (i.e., the ability to overcome difficulties). The study included 248 Spanish-speaking TNB youth aged 12 to 29 years (Mage = 20.75, SD = 2.92). Minors were recruited through TNB organizations, while adults were reached via social networks. Informed consent was obtained from all participants, and in the case of minors, from their parents or legal guardians. Participants completed the Self-Compassion Scale (Neff, 2003), the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (Zimet et al., 1988), the Brief Resilience Scale (Smith et al., 2008), the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale-21 (Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995), and the Functional Assessment of Self-Mutilation scale (Lloyd et al., 1997). The study was approved by the institutional ethics committee. Path analysis using MPLUS-8.11 examined the indirect associations between variables. Results indicated that self-compassion was positively associated with social support (β = 0.39, SE = 0.08, t = 4.61, p < .001) and individual-level resilience (β = 0.32, SE = 0.04, t = 7.30, p < .001). Social support, in turn, was associated with lower levels of anxiety (β = –0.10, SE = 0.05, t = –2.17, p = .030) and depression (β = –0.14, SE = 0.05, t = –2.69, p = .007). Individual-level resilience was associated with lower levels of all symptoms: anxiety (β = –0.32, SE = 0.09, t = –3.53, p < .001), depression (β = –0.34, SE = 0.10, t = –3.39, p = .001), stress (β = –0.30, SE = 0.09, t = -3.34, p = .001), and non-suicidal self-injury (β = –3.73, SE = 1.15, t = –3.25, p = .001). Bootstrapping analyses (N = 10,000 samples) confirmed the significance of all indirect associations. In conclusion, the results of this study may inform the development of psychological interventions aimed at TNB youth by identifying some of the mechanisms through which self-compassion exerts beneficial effects. Future studies should explore whether interventions promoting self-compassion can improve psychological well-being in this population by fostering individual-level resilience and social support.