Increasingly, social life—and accordingly, social research—is conducted in online environments. Asynchronous online focus groups (AOFGs) have emerged as an important tool to conduct remote research with geographically diverse populations. However, there remain few systematic accounts of AOFG methods to guide researchers’ decision-making in designing and implementing studies. This paper seeks to address this gap by describing a recent study on body image and health among transgender and gender diverse (TGD) young adults. In this study, eight AOFGs were conducted in August-October 2019 with 66 TGD young adults residing in 25 U.S. states. Each AOFG lasted four consecutive days with two prompts posted by moderators per day. Overall, participant satisfaction with AOFGs was high: 98% reported their experience was excellent, very good, or good and 95% would be somewhat or very likely to sign up for another AOFG. This example is used to illustrate key methodological decision-points, acceptability of the method to participants, and lessons learned. The goal of this paper is to encourage other researchers, particularly health researchers, to consider using AOFGs and to engage with the method’s strengths and limitations in order to develop new opportunities for online technologies to enrich the field of qualitative health research.

Prior research suggests that prejudice and structural disadvantage (e.g., cissexism, racism, sexism) put transgender and nonbinary (TNB) young adults at risk for adverse romantic relationship experiences, yet supportive romantic relationships may help TNB young adults cope with these stressors and promote their psychological wellbeing. Accordingly, there is a need to better understand how TNB young adults navigate romantic relationships in the context of prejudice and structural disadvantage. To address this topic, we analyzed in-depth interviews with TNB young adults (18–30 years; N = 30) using template-style thematic analysis, guided by intersectionality as an analytical framework. Our analysis resulted in three themes. Theme 1 describes how prejudice and structural disadvantage constrained the strategies that TNB young adults used to pursue fulfilling romantic relationships (e.g., leaving adverse relationships). Theme 2 addresses the tradeoffs that some participants faced in their romantic relationships, including tradeoffs between psychological needs related to their social identities (e.g., gender identity affirmation) and general psychological needs (e.g., intimacy). Theme 3 highlights individual and contextual factors (e.g., lessons from prior romantic relationships) that helped participants build fulfilling romantic relationship. These themes form the basis for the Identity Needs in Relationships Framework, a new conceptual framework addressing how TNB young adults navigate romantic relationships in the context of prejudice and structural disadvantage. The framework offers an explanation for why some TNB young adults maintain romantic relationships that seem to undermine their wellbeing, and it draws attention to strategies and resources that may help TNB young adults form fulfilling romantic relationships despite the prejudice and structural disadvantage they face.

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