Parental Responses to Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youth

Associations with Parent Support, Parental Abuse, and Youths’ Psychological Adjustment

Bibliographic Data

ID7315498
AuthorsArnold H Grossman (0000-0003-1041-8657, New York University, corresponding author), Jung Yeon Park (0000-0001-8473-9416, ITEC Research Unit, University of Leuven, Kortrijk, Belgium), John A Frank (Beyond BookSmart, Boston, Massachusetts, USA), T Russell (0000-0002-6238-0606, Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas, Austin, Texas, USA)
Year2019
Volume68
Issue8
Pages1260-1277
Publication date2019-11-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Homosexuality (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-8369 • E-ISSN: 1540-3602
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00918369.2019.1696103
PMID31774377
OpenAlexW2991157983
LanguageEN
Citations received32
References cited38

The purpose of this study was to examine parental responses to transgender and gender nonconforming [TGNC] youths' gender identities and explore associations of parent support with parental abuse, depressive symptoms, and LGBT-identity disclosure stress. TGNC youth (N = 129), ages 15-21 (M = 18.00, SD = 1.74), completed surveys (2011-2012); experiences of transfeminine (TF; n = 58) and transmasculine (TM; n = 71) youth were analyzed separately. Among mothers of TF youth, 42.0% of initial and 45.3% of current responses were positive; among fathers, 30.0% of initial and 36.0% of current responses were positive. Among mothers of TM youth, 26.0% of initial and 53.3% of current responses were positive; among fathers, 24.0% of initial and 44.6% of current responses were positive. Among TM youth, higher levels of parental support were associated with more positive responses from mothers and fathers. Among both TF and TM youth, greater parent support was associated with less parental abuse, depressive symptoms, and LGBTQ-identity disclosure stress. Parental responses to youths' gender identities became more positive with time for TF youth; however, approximately 50% of all TGNC youth continued to experience minority stress related to parent rejection. Limitations and implications for practice and research are discussed

Developmental psychology · Transgender · Clinical Psychology · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Reproductive Health and Technologies · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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