Document Type
Capstone Experience
Graduation Date
8-2026
Degree Name
Master of Public Health
Department
Biostatistics
First Committee Member
Dr. Lynette M Smith
Abstract
This replication study examines disparities in violence victimization, mental health, suicidality, school connectedness, and housing instability among cisgender, transgender, and questioning high school students using the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS), the first nationally representative dataset to include measures of transgender identity. The study replicates findings from Suarez (2024) using survey-weighted analyses to reproduce prevalence estimates and group differences across key health outcomes. A measurement and estimation analysis assessed robustness using unweighted analysis, and a theory-driven confirmatory analysis examined whether disparities varied across race/ethnicity and grade level. The survey-weighted logistic regression models with a three-way interaction between gender identity, race/ethnicity, and grade was used to assess whether disparities in all outcomes varied across subgroups. Interaction effects were evaluated using Type 3 Wald tests and supported with predicted probability plots. Results closely replicated the original findings, showing that transgender and questioning youth consistently experienced higher levels of violence exposure, poorer mental health, greater suicidality, lower school connectedness, and higher housing instability compared with cisgender students. Findings were consistent across weighted and unweighted analyses. Overall, the replication confirms the robustness of the original study and highlights persistent health disparities affecting transgender and questioning youth.
Rights
The author holds the copyright to this work and any reuse or permissions must be obtained from the author directly.
Recommended Citation
Tran, Diep, "A Replication Study - Disparities in School Connectedness, Unstable Housing, Experiences of Violence, Mental Health, and Suicidal Thoughts and Behaviors among Transgender and Cisgender High School Students—Youth Risk Behavior Survey, United States, 2023. MMWR supplements, 73" (2026). Capstone Experience: Master of Public Health. 433.
https://digitalcommons.unmc.edu/coph_slce/433
Included in
Adult and Continuing Education Commons, Bilingual, Multilingual, and Multicultural Education Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Health and Physical Education Commons, Other Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons, Public Health Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons