Parenting a gender diverse child: ambiguous loss and parental coping .
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Parenting a gender diverse child: the role of ambiguous loss and resilience in parental coping.
IRAS ID
237220
Contact name
Lou Pryer
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Bath
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Transgender is a term used to describe people whose gender identity differs from the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender identity is a person's internal, personal sense of being a male or a female, and for some people, their gender identity does not fit neatly into these two choices.
This research focuses upon the initial assessment phase in a gender identity clinic, attended by the child and primary caregivers. It is suggested that many parents of gender diverse children experience a sense of ambiguous loss. Ambiguous loss can be described as a type of loss that occurs without closure or understanding. This kind of loss leaves a person searching for answers, and thus complicates and delays the process of grieving, and can result in unresolved grief (Boss, 2016). The child they thought they had is not the child they now live with. Thus, parental expectations must change. Further, parents’ ability to tolerate and manage the ambiguity of their child’s often fluid gender identity is proposed as a key factor in their experience of ambiguous loss and the related confusion over family members’ identities, both of which contribute to emotional distress.
Parents must learn to live with the ambiguity of their child’s often fluid gender identity, which can sometimes leave them feeling confused and distressed. However positive psychological outcomes for gender diverse children is closely linked to parental support (Hill, Menvielle, Sica & Johnson, 2010) and the limited research in this area is indicative of the need for further research into the experiences of parenting gender diverse children in a society which often does not affirm or tolerate these experiences.
REC name
London - Dulwich Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/0913
Date of REC Opinion
22 May 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion