I'm Totally Transariffic: The Role of Community-Based Services in Promoting Resilience Among Trans* and Gender Non-Conforming Youth

Background: Trans* and gender non-conforming (TGNC) youth face challenges to their well-being (Reisner, et al, 2015). These challenges are related to the stigma and marginalization faced in their families, schools and communities (Garofalo, et al, 2012; McGuire, et al, 2010). In these potentially hostile environments, TGNC youth seek spaces and opportunities for safety and acceptance (Singh, 2013), which often leads them to community-based LGBTQ youth-serving organizations. Little is understood, however, about how programs and services delivered in these settings support the resilience of youth, particularly TGNC youth. This study aimed to identify primary aspects of resilience among a sample of TGNC youth seeking services and support from an LGBTQ youth-serving organization, and the relationship between resilience and expectations for how community-based programs can enhance well-being among TGNC youth.

Methods: Qualitative analysis was conducted on data collected by a community-based LGBTQ youth organization in a large city in the U.S. Youth completed an online application for a leadership program provided by the organization. The application included demographics and open-ended responses to four questions including; greatest challenge, greatest accomplishment, why the youth wanted to attend the program, and what the youth expected to gain from participating. A total of 280 completed the survey application between April and August 2014; 85 of whom were TGNC-identified. The TGNC youth ranged in age from 13 to 24 (mean=18) and self-reported a range of different gender identities, both binary and non-binary, and sexual orientations. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify categories of responses within each question. These themes were then compared across questions to allow for emergence of challenges and accomplishments that the youth identified as being supported through community-based programs.

Findings: Primary themes associated with resilience that emerged from the youths’ responses to their greatest accomplishments were: (1) school achievement/leadership, (2) coming out/living authentically, (3) self-acceptance, and (4) contributing to helping others. Many of the youth identified added barriers to their accomplishments, including experiences of homelessness, mental health crises, and lack of family or peer acceptance, which were perceived as further evidence of their achievement indicating resilience among the participants. External validation and self-confidence emerged as key components of resilience reflected in what the youth hoped to gain from the community-based program. Many youth described their communities as less than TGNC-affirming, but identified the following experiences as ones that could help them to get through the challenges and barriers they faced– (1) building a network of friends who accept them, (2) opportunities to learn about other TGNC-identified people and themselves, (3) time to safely be comfortable in one’s own skin, and (4) connection to larger LGBTQ community and history. These trans*-affirming experiences were perceived as supporting an ability to transcend the challenges and to “never give up”.

Conclusion and Implications: The findings of this study suggest that there are key trans*-affirmative principles that can be considered in the implementation of community-based LGBTQ youth-serving programs and services that may promote resilience among TGNC youth as they maneuver through systems and environments that are less than affirming.