Sweder Noah, Garcia Lucinda, Salinas-Quiroz Fernando
Eliot-Pearson Department of Child Study and Human Development (EPCSHD), Tufts University, Medford, USA.
School of Arts and Sciences, EPCSHD, Tufts University, 105 College Avenue, 02155, Medford, USA.
Child Adolesc Psychiatry Ment Health. 2024 Sep 12;18(1):117. doi: 10.1186/s13034-024-00807-y.
While research has emphasized the importance of parental support for LGBTQIA + youth wellbeing, there remains limited understanding of parental experiences with nonbinary children, particularly those prepubescent. This study aimed to explore how parents of nonbinary children ages 5-8 learn to support their child's identity, examining initial reactions, emotional processes, supportive behaviors, societal responses, and associated challenges and rewards.
A qualitative study was conducted using Reflexive Thematic Analysis (RTA) within a framework of ontological relativism and epistemological constructivism. Nine parents of nonbinary children aged 5-8 from the Northeastern United States participated in semi-structured interviews lasting 60-80 min. Questions explored various aspects of parenting nonbinary children, including the child's gender identity, parental feelings, experiences sharing the child's identity, and challenges and rewards of raising a gender-diverse child. The research team, comprising individuals who identify as trans, genderqueer, and nonbinary, employed collaborative coding and thematic development.
Four main themes were constructed: (1) Parents hear and support their child's nonbinary identity, this theme highlights immediate acceptance and efforts parents make to affirm their child's gender; (2) Parents learn about ways cisnormative society harms their child, here, parents recognize the societal pressures and barriers their children face; (3) Parents take significant and proactive steps to affirm their child, this theme documents the actions parents take to support their child in environments that invalidate their identity; and (4) Gender is just one aspect of who my child is, this theme reflects on parental insights of gender as just one part of their child's overall personhood.
This study provides insights into the experiences of parents supporting young nonbinary children, emphasizing the importance of affirming expressed identity, the parent-child relationship, and proactive support in navigating cisnormative societal structures. Findings highlight the transformative experience of parenting nonbinary children, with parents often challenging their own preconceptions of gender and coming to more nuanced understandings. These results can inform supportive interventions and policies for nonbinary children and their families, and we hope to contribute to a growing body of research that shifts narratives towards joy, resilience, and community in trans and nonbinary experiences.
虽然研究强调了父母的支持对LGBTQIA+青少年幸福感的重要性，但对于父母与非二元性别孩子（尤其是青春期前的孩子）相处的经历，人们的了解仍然有限。本研究旨在探讨5至8岁非二元性别孩子的父母如何学习支持孩子的身份认同，考察他们的初始反应、情感历程、支持行为、社会反应以及相关的挑战和收获。
在本体论相对主义和认识论建构主义的框架内，采用反思性主题分析（RTA）进行了一项定性研究。来自美国东北部的9位5至8岁非二元性别孩子的父母参加了时长60至80分钟的半结构化访谈。问题探讨了养育非二元性别孩子的各个方面，包括孩子的性别认同、父母的感受、分享孩子身份认同的经历，以及养育一个性别多元孩子的挑战和收获。由认同跨性别、性别酷儿和非二元性别的个体组成的研究团队采用了协作编码和主题发展的方法。
构建了四个主要主题：（1）父母倾听并支持孩子的非二元性别身份认同，该主题强调了父母的立即接受以及他们为确认孩子的性别所做的努力；（2）父母了解顺性别规范社会对孩子的伤害方式，在此，父母认识到孩子所面临的社会压力和障碍；（3）父母采取重大且积极主动的措施来确认孩子的身份，该主题记录了父母在孩子身份认同被否定的环境中为支持孩子所采取的行动；（4）性别只是我孩子的一个方面，该主题反映了父母对性别的见解，即性别只是孩子整体人格的一部分。
本研究深入了解了支持年幼非二元性别孩子的父母的经历，强调了确认孩子所表达的身份认同、亲子关系以及在顺性别规范社会结构中积极支持的重要性。研究结果凸显了养育非二元性别孩子的变革性经历，父母常常挑战自己对性别的先入之见，并形成更细致入微的理解。这些结果可为针对非二元性别孩子及其家庭的支持性干预措施和政策提供参考，我们希望为越来越多的研究做出贡献，这些研究将叙事转向跨性别和非二元性别经历中的喜悦、韧性和社区。
