Authors: Taber, J, L & Stults, C, B.
Date of publication: 2024
Journal: Transgender Health
Summary: This American study surveyed 200 transgender and nonbinary (TNB) young people to explore the impact of supportive and unsupportive family behaviour on the rate of negative mental health outcomes.
The researchers found that unsupportive family behaviours (e.g. violence, kicked out of the family home, ending the relationship) were associated with increased negative mental health outcomes such as depression, anxiety and post -traumatic stress disorder. They also found that supportive family behaviours (e.g. Used preferred name/pronouns, did research on how to support you, stood up for you with others, voiced support to you) were not enough to buffer these negative effects, and if family are only partially supportive it may not be enough to undo the negative impact of other unsupportive family behaviours.
In addition to this, overall supportive family behaviours were not found to be enough to counteract the negative impact of transphobia and other unsupportive behaviours from non-family members.
Understanding the role of family in the mental health of TNB young people is important to aid in developing targeted family interventions.
You can read a summary only of the study here