Unraveling Transphobia: Role of Socio-Emotional Factors

Abstract

This study investigates the socio-emotional determinants of transphobia among young adults aged 18 to 22, focusing on the roles of peer influence and alexithymia. Despite increasing visibility and legal recognition of transgender individuals, transphobia remains pervasive, particularly within cultures governed by rigid binary gender norms. Drawing from cognitive, discursive, and socio-cultural frameworks, this research explores how emotional regulation deficits and social conformity mechanisms contribute to discriminatory attitudes. A sample of 101 university students participated in the study using standardized tools: the Genderism and Transphobia Scale (Hill & Willoughby, 2005), the Peer Pressure Questionnaire–Revised (Saini & Singh, 2010), and the Perth Alexithymia Questionnaire (Preece et al., 2018). Correlational and regression analyses revealed that peer influence significantly correlates with and predicts transphobic attitudes, while alexithymia, though positively associated, did not emerge as a statistically significant predictor. The combined model explained 7.1% of the variance in transphobia. These findings underscore the critical role of social environments in shaping prejudice and highlight the need for educational interventions that address peer group norms and promote emotional literacy. The study contributes to a deeper understanding of how socio-emotional mechanisms interact to perpetuate stigma against gender-diverse populations and calls for further interdisciplinary research to inform inclusive policies and psychosocial interventions.