Creating a Safe Space: A Grounded Theory Analysis of How Mothers Enable Their Transgender Child to Flourish.

Transgender individuals consistently experience poorer mental health outcomes compared to the cisgender population. The role of the parent is fundamental in the prevention of distress through care, nurture, and protection from adverse life events. Little research exists on the experiences of parents...

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Published in:Journal of Child & Family Studies Vol. 34; no. 7; pp. 1896 - 1909
Main Authors: Carrick, Olivia, Schlösser, Annette
Format: Article
Published: Springer Nature Jul2025
Subjects:
Online Access:View this record in EBSCOhost
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      dt: Jul2025
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        atl: Creating a Safe Space: A Grounded Theory Analysis of How Mothers Enable Their Transgender Child to Flourish.
      aug:
        au:
          Carrick, Olivia
          Schlösser, Annette
        affil: https://ror.org/04nkhwh30 Faculty of Health Sciences, School of Psychology and Social Work The University of Hull, Hull, UK
      su:
        United Kingdom
        Adolescent development
        Psychological distress
        Qualitative research
        Gender identity
        Transgender people
        Interviewing
        Positive psychology
        Psychological well-being
        Attitudes of mothers
        Mother-child relationship
        Motherhood
        Social support
        Psychosocial factors
        Adolescence
        Emotion regulation
        Children's accident prevention
        Research methodology
        Grounded theory
      sug:
        subj:
          Adolescent development
          Psychological distress
          Qualitative research
          Gender identity
          Transgender people
          Interviewing
          Positive psychology
          Psychological well-being
          Attitudes of mothers
          Mother-child relationship
          Motherhood
          Social support
          Psychosocial factors
          Adolescence
          United Kingdom
          Other Individual and Family Services
          Emotion regulation
          Children's accident prevention
          Research methodology
          Grounded theory
      keyword:
        Flourishing
        Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology
        Parents
        Safe space
        Transgender
        Flourishing
        Medical and Health Sciences Public Health and Health Services Psychology and Cognitive Sciences Psychology
        Parents
        Safe space
        Transgender
      ab: Transgender individuals consistently experience poorer mental health outcomes compared to the cisgender population. The role of the parent is fundamental in the prevention of distress through care, nurture, and protection from adverse life events. Little research exists on the experiences of parents of transgender youths, which is mostly saturated with negative discourses of loss, rejection, and stigma. Consequently, this study aimed to adopt a positive psychology approach to explore how parents enable their transgender child to flourish. Nine mothers from across the UK participated in semi-structured interviews. A qualitative Constructivist Grounded Theory methodology was used to guide sampling, data collection and the generation of theory. The theory of creating a safe space emerged from the data, as mothers managed their emotions, protected their child from harm, supported their gender identity exploration, and accessed support for their child to enable them to flourish. The flourishing framework provides guidance to parents and healthcare professionals on how to optimise the wellbeing of transgender youth whilst they navigate their gender identity. Highlights: The research offers a refreshing positive psychology approach to parenting transgender youth amongst a literature backdrop with predominant narratives of loss, rejection and stigma. The article provides a novel grounded theory to explore how parents enable their transgender child to flourish. The flourishing framework provides guidance to parents and healthcare professionals on how to optimise the wellbeing of transgender youth.
      pubtype: Academic Journal
      doctype: Article
      src: R
    language: English
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