Factors associated with the financial strain of transgender and gender diverse college students

Abstract

The financial health of transgender and gender diverse (TGD) college students is an understudied topic despite prior research showing significant financial distress in this population. Utilizing Brüggen et al.'s financial well-being framework and the 2017 and 2020 waves of the Study on Collegiate Financial Wellness dataset, this study examines factors related to financial strain for TGD college students. Results indicate that TGD college students experience significant indirect impacts of their gender identity on financial strain. TGD students had significantly lower financial optimism, financial self-efficacy, and financial socialization than their cisgender peers; they also engaged in behaviors associated with poor financial management significantly more frequently. These differences between TGD students and cisgender students each lead directly to significant increases in financial strain. This means that the average financial strain for TGD students is higher than for cisgender students, because of the way gender identity impacts other factors related to their financial well-being.