Perceived legal protection and institutional trust predict a lower psychological distress level for transgender people in Aotearoa/New Zealand

Figures & data

Table 1. Demographic details of counting ourselves participants.

	n (%)
Age groups
14–18	132 (15.3)
19–24	245 (28.4)
25–39	300 (34.8)
40–54	115 (13.3)
55+	71 (8.2)
Gender groups^a
Trans women	259 (30.0)
Trans men	246 (28.5)
Non-binary AFAB	279 (32.4)
Non-binary AMAB	78 (9.0)
Ethnic groups^b
New Zealand European/Pākehā	728 (84.4)
Indigenous Māori	107 (12.4)
Chinese	13 (1.5)
Samoan	11 (1.3)
Disability
No disability	644 (74.8)
At least one form of disability	217 (25.2)
Regions^c
Auckland	261 (30.7)
Wellington	242 (28.5)
Other North Island regions	147 (17.3)
Canterbury	98 (11.5)
Other South Island regions	101 (11.9)

Note. AFAB, assigned female at birth; AMAB, assigned male at birth

^a One participant did not respond to sex assigned at birth question

^b Only included ethnic groups with more than 1%. Percentage was derived using the concept of total response ethnicity where participants can contribute to the statistics for more than one ethnic group (Ministry of Health, 2017).

^c 14 participants did not respond to the question on postcode.

Table 2. Percentage of counting ourselves participants with low levels of institutional trust.

	Police			Courts			Parliament			Media
Age	CO (%)	NZGSS (%)	Pearson ꭓ^2/RR	CO (%)	NZGSS (%)	Pearson ꭓ^2/RR	CO (%)	NZGSS (%)	Pearson ꭓ^2/RR	CO (%)	NZGSS (%)	Pearson ꭓ^2/RR
15–24 [360]	47.2	5.7	469.99***, 10.04	45.6	9.4	328.64***, 4.85	49.4	19.1	203.84***, 2.59	66.6	37.3	171.96***, 1.79
25–34 [250]	63.5	6.9	702.24***, 9.20	63.1	11.5	569.24***, 5.49	57.9	22.4	262.23***, 2.58	69.8	40.7	171.25***, 1.72
35–44 [93]	45.2	6.4	393.20***, 7.06	48.4	12.9	296.45***, 3.75	51.6	23.7	165.8***, 2.17	65.6	38.0	152.55***, 1.73
45–54 [70]	25.7	7.3	122.87***, 3.52	27.1	13.6	56.22***, 1.99	47.1	26.8	88.44***, 1.76	42.9	39.8	1.98, 1.08
55–64 [52]	30.2	8.2	155.99***, 3.68	30.2	14.9	67.02***, 2.03	45.3	31.1	42.71***, 1.46	67.9	42.2	133.46***, 1.61
65–74 [14]	26.7	5.6	164.38***, 4.77	13.3	14.7	0.42, 0.93	40.0	28.9	27.29**, 1.38	40.0	39.9	0, 1.00
Overall	48.6	6.5	443.99***, 7.48	48.0	12.5	298.65***, 3.84	51.6	24.9	150.91***, 2.07	65.1	39.2	134.41***, 1.66

Note. CO = Counting Ourselves transgender participants; NZGSS = 2018 New Zealand General Social Survey general population estimates.

RR = risk ratio estimates

*** p<.001, **p<.01, *p<.05

Participants who were classified as having low institutional trust when they selected a point between 0 to 4 on a scale of 0 to 10.

Participants aged 14 were excluded from this particular analysis as NZGSS only recruited participants aged 15 and above.

We did not present findings of those aged 75+ due to the low number of Counting Ourselves participants in this age group (n = 3).

2018 NZGSS data are obtained from Statistics New Zealand (2019)’s public website.

http://vassarstats.net/odds2x2.html

Table 3. Demographic differences for institutional trust.

	Police	Courts	Parliament	Media
Age	0.04 (0.02, 0.05)***	0.03 (0.02, 0.04)***	0.01 (0, 0.02)	0.01 (0, 0.02)
Gender groups
Trans women (reference)	1	1	1	1
Trans men	0.02 (-0.51, 0.54)	−0.55 (-0.99, −0.11)*	0.22 (-0.20, 0.63)	−0.39 (-0.77, −0.02)*
Non-binary AFAB	−0.67 (-1.19, −0.16)*	−0.88 (-1.31, −0.45)***	−0.02 (-0.42, 0.39)	−0.24 (-0.60, 0.13)
Non-binary AMAB	−0.51 (-1.27, 0.26)	−0.24 (-0.88, 0.40)	0.06 (-0.54, 0.66)	0.10 (-0.45, 0.64)
Ethnic groups
European and others (reference)	1	1	1	1
Indigenous Māori	−0.32 (-0.94, 0.30)	−0.12 (-0.64, 0.39)	−0.22 (-0.70, 0.26)	−0.29 (-0.73, 0.14)
Pacific peoples	−0.24 (-1.50, 1.03)	−0.23 (-1.29, 0.82)	0.14 (-0.85, 1.12)	−0.08 (-0.97, 0.82)
Asian peoples	−0.38 (-1.49, 0.74)	−0.19 (-1.12, 0.74)	−0.02 (-0.88, 0.85)	0.18 (-0.61, 0.97)
Disability
No disability (reference)	1	1	1	1
At least one form of disability	−1.41 (-1.87, −0.95)***	−1.05 (-1.44, −0.67)***	−0.96 (-1.32, −0.60)***	−0.42 (-0.75, −0.09)*

*** p<.001, **p<.01, *p<.05

Table 4. Correlation matrix of legal system, institutional trust, and age, and psychological distress among counting ourselves participants.

	V1	V2	V3	V4	V5	V6	V7	V8
V1. Police trust	1	0.34**	0.73**	0.49**	0.24**	0.41**	0.17**	−0.22**
V2. Media trust	0.46**	1	0.54**	0.57**	0.17**	0.25**	0.07*	−0.18**
V3. Courts trust	0.34**	0.54**	1	0.66**	0.32**	0.46**	0.17**	−0.28**
V4. Parliament trust	0.73**	0.57**	0.66**	1	0.25**	0.33**	0.05	−0.22**
V5. Legal protection	0.49**	0.17**	0.32**	0.25**	1	0.49**	0.07*	−0.16**
V6. Legal confidence	0.24**	0.25**	0.46**	0.33**	0.39**	1	0.16**	−0.26**
V7. Age	0.41**	0.07*	0.17**	0.05	0.07*	0.16**	1	−0.44**
V8. K10 Psychological Distress	0.17**	−0.18**	−0.28**	−0.22**	−0.16**	−0.26**	−0.44**	1

*** p<.001, **p<.01, *p<.05

Figure 1. Mediation analysis of institutional trust toward police, court and parliament on the relationship between perception of legal protection, and psychological distress.

Note that the mediation model for police and courts adjusted for age, gender groups and disability status. The mediation model for parliament adjusted for age and disability status.

Figure 2. Mediation analysis of institutional trust toward police, court and parliament on the relationship between confidence of legal protection, and psychological distress.

Note that the mediation model for police and courts adjusted for age, gender groups and disability status. The mediation model for parliament adjusted for age and disability status.

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