A psychological support group for parents in the care of families with gender diverse children and adolescents

Abstract

Parenting gender diverse children and adolescents can be a challenging experience, entailing doubts about how to protect and support them during their development. Parental reactions impact on the child’s sense of security and well-being. Therefore, when caring for families with gender diverse children, it is important to offer support to parents. In this article we present an experience with a 12-month support group for parents of young people who attended the service for gender identity development at a paediatric hospital. We describe the group structure and methodology, together with the process for evaluating the intervention. At 6-month intervals, parents were asked to indicate the most important topics that had emerged during the monthly sessions. At 12 months, they completed a semi-structured feedback questionnaire about their experience in the group, including possible difficulties encountered. Thematic analysis showed an evolution in time, with participants taking a more complex perspective on gender diversity and the needs of their children, while feeling more able to deal with the uncertainties related to gender identity development. After attending the group, parents reported feeling less lonely, more confident, and better able to communicate with their children. They related these positive changes to the opportunity of sharing experiences and mutual learning. This feed-back provides preliminary evidence that the psychological support group was perceived to be a useful resource by parents of gender diverse young people.

When the context rows against. Voicing parents of transgender children and teenagers in Italy: A qualitative study

“…Also, increasing the presence of support groups for parents is important. In fact, the role of support groups for parents is widely highlighted in literature, in particular as a means for advocacy (see also, Caldarera, Davidson, Vitiello, & Baietto, 2021; Pickett, Heller, & Cook, 1998).…”

Support for Mothers, Fathers, or Guardians of Transgender Children and Adolescents: A Systematic Review on the Dynamics of Secondary Social Networks

“…The articles were published in 2009 (3.5%) [ 17 ], 2011 (3.5%) [ 18 ], 2013 (3.5%) [ 19 ], 2014 (7.1%) [ 20 , 21 ], 2015 (3.5%) [ 22 ], 2016 (7.1%) [ 23 , 24 ], 2018 (7.1%) [ 25 , 26 ], 2019 (17.8%) [ 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], 2020 (17.8%) [ 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 ], and 2021 (28.5%) [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 ]. All articles (100%) were published in English, of which 17 (60.7%) [ 17 , 18 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 37 , 40 , 44 ] originated in America, 3 (32.1%) [ 20 , 30 , 31 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 41 , ...…”

“…The methodological quality of the articles included in the final sample of this review was assessed and they all showed congruence in the following aspects: philosophical perspective and research methodology; research methodology and research question or objectives; research methodology and data collection methods; participants and their voices adequately represented; compliance with ethical issues and conclusions of data analysis or interpretation [ 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 ].…”

A Science Mapping Analysis of Sixty-Seven Years of Scientific Evolution about the Transgender Population

“…These discussions are relevant because, a lot of times, organizations have institutionalized cisnormativity, which makes the trans individual vulnerable to marginalization and discrimination [119]. The importance of psychological support for parents of children and adolescents of different genders is also discussed, so they can strengthen the processes of communication and acceptance of their children [122].…”