Mom, Dad, or Somewhere In Between

Role-Relational Ambiguity and Children of Transgender Parents

Bibliographic Data

ID2286972
AuthorsJ A Tabor (0000-0002-1846-2057, Indiana University, corresponding author), Jaclyn Tabor (Indiana University)
Year2019
Volume81
Issue2
Pages506-519
Publication date2019-04-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Marriage and the Family (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-2445 • E-ISSN: 1741-3737
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/jomf.12537
OpenAlexW2894756310
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited40

ObjectiveThis study introduces the concept of role-relational ambiguity to explain the challenges some individuals face in adjusting to a parent's gender transition.BackgroundWhen a parent undergoes a gender transition, our society lacks both the language and social scripts to describe how parent-child relationships and roles should look afterward. Yet little is understood about how children of transgender parents experience a parent's transition.MethodDrawing from in-depth interviews with 30 adult children of transgender parents, this article documents the occurrence of role-relational ambiguity and how individuals manage this ambiguity in the long term.ResultsResults indicate repeated discussions of role-relational ambiguity in a majority of participants. In the long term, participants developed a number of strategies for coping with role-relational ambiguity.ConclusionRole-relational ambiguity is a common occurrence for the children of transgender people interviewed in this study. Yet, it is evident that most of these participants were actively engaged in attempts to restructure and redefine relationships with their transgender parents despite the obstacles presented by role-relational ambiguity.ImplicationsRole-relational ambiguity is an understandable response to unexpected family changes, and one that can be worked through with time, understanding, and the proper resources

Ambiguity · Developmental psychology · Linguistics · Scripting language · Transgender · Transition (genetics · Child Welfare and Adoption · Computer Science · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Social Psychology

Tools

Open DOISci-Hub