The majority of research about transgender and non-binary youth and young adults focuses on negative outcomes that result from discrimination and stigma, such as high rates of suicide, unemployment, and homelessness. This damage-centered orientation can simultaneously perpetuate one-dimensional narratives that position transgender and non-binary youth as victims. As a result, interventions to support gender diverse youth often focus on decreasing negative outcomes or helping them to cope with harm. One strategy for shifting this approach is to develop an asset-based narrative of gender diverse youth. A pilot study found that gender diverse youth conceptualized their own wellbeing in ways that emphasized joy, visibility, and community. This study will expand this work by engaging a diverse group of transgender and non-binary youth and young adults in the construction of an intersectional, desire-centered measure of well-being. The team will first recruit and train a team of 10-12 transgender and nonbinary youth who will serve with the PIs as the research team. Together, they will develop an operational definition of well-being. In a second phase, the team will conduct focus groups and interviews with a larger sample of youth to refine the components of the measure. Findings will lay the groundwork for the validation of a new survey measure that can create an asset-based narrative of well-being and provide a new orientation to future research, policy, and programmatic interventions.
Can a more accurate measure of transgender and nonbinary youth well-being be developed through a participatory process that centers youth perspectives?
