“How in God’s Name Are We Going to Navigate This?”: Parent Support for Transgender Adolescents

Abstract

The extant literature has clearly demonstrated that transgender and nonbinary adolescents (TNBA) face extreme stress related to navigating gender identity and expression across various social environments. Additionally, parents are perhaps the most critical aspect of support for TNBA, and research has repeatedly identified the benefits of parent support for adolescent mental health. However, few studies underscore how TNBA and parents within the same family perceive parent support after adolescents disclose that they are transgender or nonbinary. The present qualitative study uses a life history calendar (LHC) interview approach with 20 TNBA-parent dyads (40 individual interviews) to explore TNBA-parent perceptions of parent support and adjustment related to TNBA gender identity and affirmation. Findings yielded three main points regarding parental support for TNBA. First, the time between disclosure to a parent and puberty mattered for parental support and adjustment processes. Second, parents who stepped into their child’s gender journey during their child’s adolescence grappled with feelings of grief and loss as they were making decisions to support their child’s gender affirmation. For many of these families, stigma-related fears and adolescent distress impacted parent support for their child’s gender journey. Third, parents lacked a familiar and affirming roadmap in their own families and communities, and although parents connected with other parents of trans kids for support, for some, these supportive resources presented challenges. Continued research can further study the complex drivers of support and the potential impact of these support processes on adolescent and parental well-being.