Immersive online environment

Online environment

Control

The activities will be conducted in a Metaverse platform with immersive features. Each session is divided into two parts (~2 hours duration). First, a specific social context will be represented (environmental features and static avatars) and a microaggression scenario (adapted for the chosen context) will be described. Participants are engaged in the conversation by the moderator in order to identify various psychological manifestations regarding the context (according to the SORC model) and to come up with solutions for the main, model avatar (part of the research team). Second, the debriefing part of the session will allow participants to talk about their own experiences alongside specific self-compassionate exercises. Repeated measurements will be required: pre-intervention, mid-intervention, post-intervention and at follow-up (after 3 months).

Assessing changes in levels of comfort and satisfaction related to gender identity with The Psychological Gender Affirmation Scale which contains 5 items, ranging from 1 - Not at all to 5 - Extremely. Higher scores indicate better outcomes.

Assessing changes in resilient attitudes from a general perspective with the Brief Resilience Scale (6 items on a 5-point Likert response scale, ranging from 1 - Strongly disagree to 5 - Strongly agree) and from a specific view of gender minority resilience with the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure. Only the resilience items will be selected from the 58-items scale (5 items for Community connectedness and 8 items for Pride). Responses range from 0 - Strongly disagree to 4 - Strongly agree. Higher scores indicate better outcomes.

Assessing changes in perceived distal (Discrimination, Rejection and Victimization - 17 items) and proximal stress factors (Non-affirmation of gender identity, Internalized transphobia, Nondisclosure and Negative future expectations - 28 items) with the Gender Minority Stress and Resilience Measure (selecting only stress-related items) and in mental health symptoms with the Depression, Anxiety, Stress Scale (DASS), containing 21 items. Higher scores mean worse outcomes.

Assessing changes in approached coping mechanisms with the Trans and Nonbinary Coping Measure containing 28 items and 6 subscales with both adaptive and maladaptive types of coping, on a 5-point Likert scale (1 - I do not do this to 5 - I almost always do this). Scoring significance depends on the nature of the coping mechanisms.

Short mood check questions for the beggining and end of the sessions with items from The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (6-point Likert scale).

Gender dysphoric symptoms are assessed pre-intervention (at baseline) to establish an initial level of gender-dysphoria for participants with the Gender Preoccupation and Stability Questionnaire containing 14 items with a 5-point response Likert scale. Higher scores mean increased gender dysphoria.