When you can’t go home: Associations between family environment and suicidality for transgender youth with histories of homelessness
2019-05
Loading...
View/Download File
Persistent link to this item
Statistics
View StatisticsJournal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Title
When you can’t go home: Associations between family environment and suicidality for transgender youth with histories of homelessness
Authors
Published Date
2019-05
Publisher
Type
Thesis or Dissertation
Abstract
Transgender youth who are or have been homeless are at an increased risk of suicide. To better understand risk and protective factors for suicide in this population, the present qualitative study analyzed interviews with 30 racially diverse transgender young people (ages 15-26) who had experienced homelessness. Inductive qualitative content analysis revealed that gender-based rejection from family members, other dysfunctional family dynamics (e.g., domestic violence, substance abuse), and mental illness appeared to increase risk of both homelessness and suicide, rather than homelessness itself increasing suicide risk. Results show that although homelessness was a stressor in these young people’s lives, conflict and rejection from family members could also be severe stressors. In these instances, participants managed conflictual relationships in ways that allowed them to maintain relationships when safe, and to create distance when relationships were not supportive. Findings suggest that clinicians and other service providers working with homeless transgender youth need to be mindful of the intersectional nature of potential familial stressors, wherein gender-based prejudice can interact with other family dysfunction to make the home unsafe, and to facilitate their clients’ agency in establishing appropriate boundaries with family members. Additionally, efforts to support trans youth may need to focus on advocating for the expansion of social safety net programs that provide access to basic necessities in order to proactively reduce harm to transgender people, regardless of their specific family circumstances.
Keywords
Description
University of Minnesota M.A. thesis.May 2019. Major: Family Social Science. Advisor: Jenifer McGuire. 1 computer file (PDF); iii, 38 pages.
Related to
Replaces
License
Series/Report Number
Funding information
Isbn identifier
Doi identifier
Previously Published Citation
Suggested citation
Morrow, Quinlyn. (2019). When you can’t go home: Associations between family environment and suicidality for transgender youth with histories of homelessness. Retrieved from the University Digital Conservancy, https://hdl.handle.net/11299/206149.
Content distributed via the University Digital Conservancy may be subject to additional license and use restrictions applied by the depositor. By using these files, users agree to the Terms of Use. Materials in the UDC may contain content that is disturbing and/or harmful. For more information, please see our statement on harmful content in digital repositories.