Communication, advocacy, and acceptance among support-seeking parents of transgender youth

ABSTRACT

Others' reactions to transgender youth have been identified as an important area of study. In the current study, support-seeking parents of transgender youth already connected with services (e.g., support groups or specialty clinics) completed questions about disclosure of the child's gender identity to the parent, extended family, and school personnel, and ongoing parent-child communication about the child's gender identity. Results indicated that most children disclosed their gender identity to parents in a face-to-face conversation, often in a gradual process. Parental acceptance of the child's gender identity was common, as was parental advocacy in this sample. Acceptance by school personnel and extended family increased over time but continued to be infrequent. Results indicate that although transgender youth of support-seeking parents may be accepted at home, youth may still face discrimination and hardship in other settings.

KEYWORDS:

• Children
• parenting
• transgender
• youth

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank Kathy Lin, BA, and Lauren Pohl, BA, for their help in acting as coders for the current study. Enormous gratitude also goes out to each and every parent who took the time and effort to participate in the current study and provide valuable insights into their experiences.

Funding

This work was supported by a grant to Julie J. Exline, PhD, and Dr. Kenneth I. Pargament, PhD, from the John Templeton Foundation (Religious and Spiritual Struggle: Predictors, Pathways, and Potential for Growth and Transformation, Grant #36094).

Disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.