Poster #42 - The Harm of the Grief Narrative Among Parents of Transgender and Nonbinary Youth

• In Event: Poster Session 02

Abstract

A frequent narrative used to understand the emotional experiences of parents of transgender and nonbinary (TNB) youth is that of grief and loss (Catalpa & McGuire, 2018; Kübler-Ross, 1969; Lev, 2024; Wahlig, 2015); this framing is also prevalent among parents of sexual minority children (Martin et al., 2010). A review of studies (Abreu et al., 2019) focused on parents’ emotional reactions to learning that their child was TNB found that many parents reported feeling grief and loss, with some studies reporting that parents felt like their child had died as a result of their gender transition. Some research documents that parents may experience this initial reaction of grief due to lack of information about TNB identities and experiences (Field & Mattson, 2016). While much of the literature has focused on these experiences from the perspective of parents themselves, such studies have yet to examine how TNB youth experience hearing their parents talk about their ambiguous grief or loss as a result of them being TNB. Catalpa and McGuire’s (2018) findings document how TNB youth experience their own ambiguous loss in family relationships via dynamic and evolving experiences of family acceptance and rejection, including abuse. Yet, given how prevalent the grief narrative is in family support spaces for parents of TNB youth, it is critical to understand how this narrative impacts TNB youths’ development and mental health. Thus, the current study examined how TNB youths’ awareness of their parents’ grief surrounding their identity was associated with their own well-being (anxiety, depression, and suicidality).

This study draws on a sample of 319 TNB youth (ages 13-22) who were recruited in spring 2022 via Qualtrics Panel Services. See Table 1 for sample characteristics. Participants responded to one question about perceived parental grief: How often do member(s) of your family tell you that they are grieving because you are trans? Response options ranged from Never (1) to Many Times (4). Suicidality was assessed by two items: (a) During the past 12 months, have you seriously thought of taking your own life? (b) During the past 12 months, have you attempted to take your own life? Response options were No (0) and Yes (1). PROMIS (Quinn et al., 2014) measures assessed anxiety and depression; response options for both measures ranged from Never (1) to Always (5).

Linear and logistic regression were used to examine the relationships between grief and well-being. Analyses controlled for gender identity, sexuality, racial and ethnic identity, age, and outness to parents. Table 2 displays the results from regression analyses. Results indicated that TNB youth reports of hearing that their parents were grieving them because they are TNB were associated with higher levels of anxiety symptoms (β= .33,p< .001) and depressive symptoms (β= .23,p< .001), and higher odds of suicidal ideation (O.R. = 1.28, p < .05) and suicide attempt (O.R. = 1.53, p < .001). Limitations of the study and implications for practice with parents of TNB youth will be discussed.

Authors

• Russell B Toomey, University of Arizona
  Presenting Author

• Lizette Trujillo, Southern Arizona Gender Alliance

• Roberto Abreu, University of Florida

• Ari Rios Garza, University of Arizona

• Sydney Hainsworth, University of Arizona

• Zhenqiang Zhao, Fordham University