Between social and biomedical explanation: queer and gender diverse young people’s explanations of psychological distress

ABSTRACT

The psychological wellbeing of Queer and Gender Diverse Young People (QGDYP) has received attention of late, and increasing research evidences much higher rates of psychological distress experienced by these groups, compared to their straight, cisgender counterparts. Far more limited is research exploring queer and gender diverse young people’s own perspectives on their psychological wellbeing, an absence we address with the current study. We interviewed 21 queer or gender diverse 16–18-year-olds in Aotearoa New Zealand about their understandings of mental health and wellbeing. We took a critical realist thematic approach to analysis. This paper focuses on how participants made sense of their own distress. We explore and unpack three intersecting key themes around: 1) cisheterosexism, but not personally affected; 2) dismissal of QGDYP; and 3) validation and comfort in the biomedical model. We discuss the tensions of articulating these positions and (also) challenging cisheterosexism, and the implications for recognising and reducing the distress experienced by queer and gender diverse youth. We aim to inform policy and practice to support and ultimately improve psychological wellbeing for queer and gender diverse young people.

KEYWORDS:

• Youth mental health
• LGBTQ+
• medical model
• anti-depressants
• diagnosis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Lucy Cowie

Lucy Cowie is currently completing a Doctorate of Clinical Psychology at The University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand, alongside working with young people and their families in the public mental health system. She is particularly interested in how people navigate and challenge inequity, with a focus on the intersection between psychological distress and power. Her doctoral research explores queer and gender diverse young people's understandings of psychological distress.

Virginia Braun

Virginia Braun is a Professor in the School of Psychology at The University of Auckland, Aotearoa New Zealand. A feminist and critical (health) psychologist, she teaches and researches around gender, bodies, sex/sexuality, and health. She also writes extensively with Victoria Clarke on qualitative research, including thematic analysis. Their authored textbooks include Successful Qualitative Research (Sage, 2013), Thematic Analysis: A Practical Guide (Sage, 2021), and Collecting Qualitative Data (Cambridge, 2017, edited with Debra Gray).