Impact of Sexual Transition of Transgendered Adolescents and Young Adults on Social Support Systems in Southern Thailand

Abstract

ABSTRACT This mixed-method study analysed the impact of the transition of transgender adolescents and young adults on their social support systems as well as its consequences in the Provinces of Pattani, Yala, and Narathiwat, Southern Thailand. With the aid of open-ended, semi-structured questionnaires, interviews were conducted focussed on how they had experienced their sexual identity, the levels of their feminine, inner selves, the different ways in which they expressed their femininity, the ages at which they had started transitioning, and the unique consequences of their transitioning in society. Content analysis identified the themes and sub-themes that emerged from the data analysis. The research concluded that transitioning had negative effects on the lives of respondents and on the social support systems which they had relied on for acceptance, recognition, inclusion in society, and for ongoing help in addressing adjustment challenges. The study recommended ways whereby acceptance of and social support for transitioning adolescents and young adults might be advanced.