Gender Identity Issues in Young Age: A Parents’ Perspective

Some people may perceive an incongruence between one's assigned sex at birth and the experienced gender, therefore their gender identity is fluid and cannot be categorized in a binary system (male-female). These people may identify themselves as queer, non-binary, trans, transgender, agender, and more. The aim of the study is to interview the parents of people with these characteristics, in order to understand their point of view, and the more appropriate educational strategies adopted to relate to their children and to cope with the situation. A semi-structured interview has been created ad hoc, and 15 different couples of parents or guardians are being interviewed (the study has begun on 1st October 2021 and will require 12 months to be completed). All the sessions are audio-recorded and transcribed to allow content analysis and thematic analysis, carried out using the Atlas.ti software in version 9. Results currently obtained show a common concern in every couple interviewed, in line with results from similar studies (Kane, 2006; Rahilly, 2018), together with feelings of initial surprise, but also acceptance of the child's gender identity. All four couples interviewed until now, reported experiencing huge relief at the time of the children's coming out. Indeed, before that moment, parents were worried about their children's mental health and psychological wellness, since they were depressed, alone, even thinking to commit suicide. It is really important to explore parents' perspective of the situation, to highlight the suitable educational strategies that should be pursued relating with gender variant children, in order to support them, making them feel accepted and loved. The expected results are to see a cross-section of the reality that these families live, and we hypothesize that these data can be useful not only to families but also to the health professions in a perspective of depathologization. The authors declare no conflicts of interest.