Measuring Belonging, Risk, and Resilience Among Iranian Sexual and Gender Minorities Under State Coercion: Narrative Review & Synthesized Quantitative Analysis

Background: Iranian sexual and gender minorities face criminalization, surveillance, and stigma, and existing measures of belonging and resilience are fragmented.Methods: We conducted a theory-driven narrative review coupled with a structured secondary synthesis of published quantitative studies on Iranian sexual and gender minorities. We developed a five‑anchor analytic framework—Subjectivity, Groundedness, Reciprocity, Dynamism, and Self‑determination—mapped reported indicators (e.g., internalized stigma, depression, suicidality, policing/arrest risk, peer support, emotional inhibition) to anchors, extracted summary statistics as presented in primary studies, and produced anchor‑specific narrative syntheses. No new human participants were recruited.Findings: Evidence converged on compromised Subjectivity (consistent associations between internalized stigma and depression), fragile Groundedness (very high suicidal ideation in transgender samples), protective Reciprocity (peer support associated with counter‑normative action), and coercion‑shaped Dynamism (identity/expression‑linked arrest and harassment structuring visibility). Self‑determination reflected autonomy trade‑offs, including psychological costs of concealment and heightened emotional inhibition. The mapping validates and operationalizes the five‑anchor model.Conclusions: The framework offers an operational, ethically cautious template for quantifying belonging, risk, and resilience in criminalizing settings and can guide safe measurement, reporting, and service design for communities under repression and for diaspora services.