Gender nonconformity and rejection sensitivity among sexual minority youth: Examining rejection as an underlying mechanism and differences by sex and age

Some research seems to suggest that gender-nonconforming sexual minority youth report higher levels of rejection sensitivity (RS) because they experience more rejection compared to gender-conforming sexual minority youth. Moreover, there might be differences by age and sex assigned at birth in the association between gender nonconformity and RS. Given the importance of RS for sexual minority youth’s well-being, we examined the association between gender nonconformity and RS and the moderating roles of age and sex assigned at birth (Study 1), and whether experienced rejection explained the association between gender nonconformity and RS among sexual minority youth (Study 2). Study 1 (N = 499; 35.7% cisgender girls, 30.3% cisgender boys, 34.0% gender minority youth) was a cross-sectional study of Dutch sexual minority youth. Study 2 (N = 391; 46.8% cisgender girls, 32.7% cisgender boys, 20.5% gender minority youth) was a 14-day daily diary study of Dutch sexual minority youth. Results from Study 1 indicated that gender nonconformity was not significantly associated with RS. Neither age nor sex assigned at birth moderated this association. Study 2 showed that rejection did not explain the association between gender nonconformity and daily RS. Taken together, we found no association between gender nonconformity and RS, nor any moderating effects of age and sex assigned at birth. As this is one of the first studies that aimed to better understand how RS develops among sexual minority youth, additional research is needed to examine other potential contributors to the development of RS in this population.