where or how to get the help that they need. Unfortunately, the trouble of finding mental health care does not stop at the child, many of the parents and caretakers interviewed also experienced problems understanding and finding the right care for the child (Schimmel-Bristow et al., 2018). This shows the improvements that need to be made in health care for trans people.
Another hesitation caretakers showed in supporting their children was that they needed time to grieve for the child they had felt like they lost (Budge, Adelson, & Howard, 2013). This was a common theme that divided adolescents and caretakers, while children may have felt different for most of their life, and/or have been accepting of their identity for years, it may be news to the caretaker. The parents
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Additionally, the caretakers may worry about their child and family becoming social outcasts. Not only do they worry for their child being bullied, they worry about facing judgement and stigma themselves. Often, the transgender adolescent has been being bullied, even before coming out, and allowing them to live as their authentic self will make them feel more comfortable and better able to handle the bullying. The opposite may be true for the caretaker, who has not necessarily had to do with the social pressures. Once their child begins to transition (maybe using a different name, changing their pronouns, dressing differently) the caretaker is forced to “come out” as well every time they introduce the child. The expectation of immediate support is a lot of pressure to put on the caregiver, which may lead them to pull away and not initially understand or be encouraging. This can have
Many transgender people lived in dysfunctional families when they were young. The support becomes vital for the wellbeing of kids. In her book Redefining Realness by Janet Mock, recaps the importance of support from Michelle his cousin, who kept in secrets of gender dysphoria of Charles (Keisha) by saying “‘Pinkie –swear you won’t tell your mom’…She’d keep the secret my secret because I was her favorite cousin” (Mook 76). Michelle, kept Keisha’s secret by allowing her to use her swimming clothes. Michelle shows the importance of support from relatives. This is a fundamental factor that might help with the development of her gender identity. Many transgender people may feel a relief at the time to disclose their identity. When transition is in progress the support from friends and families becomes important because, many transgender people might suffer if they lack support. Many transgender people seem depressed because they are rejected by society. Janet Mock, relates how Wendi, support Charles, by making him feel comfortable, saying “Wendi and I grew inseparable trough middle school, a bond that would link us for the rest of our lives. Through association, my class –mates learned that I was like Wendi-who hadn’t yet adopted any labels to describe her shifting self” (Mook 107). In most cases transgender people’s acquaintances can be referred as transgender people just by friendship. The association makes transgender people to gain confidence about their gender identity. The support from groups or friends makes transgender people feel that they are accepted and not alone. Support from friends might urge transgender people to come out the “closet” and reveal their gender identity to gain respect among society. The support from friends is important, but family support seems to be the most important. When families do not support transgender people it causes a hostile environment that may suppress
Nursing theory is one of the first topics taught in nursing school. Nursing theory gives the nurse a base for identifying with their patients, organizing and analyzing information collected, to assist their patient. Many patient populations present with specific issues and concerns; nursing theory aids the nurse in seeing their patients as individuals and helps to tailor care as such. Across the lifespan, people’s needs with respect to health care are constantly changing and for the members of the transgender community this is especially true (McCann & Sharek, 2015). Studies indicate that services available to the transgender community are limited at best; and for the services that are available, healthcare professionals are undereducated and at times insensitive to the needs of this population (McCann & Sharek, 2015). By examining Peplau’s Theory of Interpersonal Relationships, this paper will explore how using this theory will help the nursing professional provide quality care to members of the transgender community.
The first topic that came up in the interview relates to idea of attachment theory. Attachment theory explains the human’s way of relating to a caregiver and receives an attachment figures relating to the parent, and children. In addition, the concept explains the confidence and ability for a child to free explore their environment with a place to seek support, protection, and comfort in times of distress (Levy, Ellison, Scott, and Bernecker, 2010, p. 193). Within attachment theory explains different types of attachment styles that children experience during early childhood. These attachment styles affect the relationships they continue to build in adulthood. The best attachment style happens when the parent is attuned to the child during his or her early childhood called secure attachment (Reyes, 2010, p. 174). In order for complete secure attachment, the child needs to feel safe, seen, and soothed. Any relationship that deviates from this model represents the anxious or insecure attachment. This means that parents or caregivers are inconsistently responsive to the children. Children who have these parents are usually confused and insecure. Some children experience a dismissive attachment where they
Attachments are formed with parents; this contributes to give a sense of who we are and who we will become in later life. However where these attachments are broken the child needs to have a secure attachment established with an alternative adult care giver,...
Transgendered people have a different and unique fight than the rest of the community. Transgendered peoples not only have the issues of “coming out,” (as others in the communities do) but also becoming a different gender. There are different obstacles that Trans people have to face.
...as an individual, still finding a sense of closeness with their caregiver. The perceptions that are formed as an infant are progressively construed to structure who we are, what we do, and why we do the things we do. These long-term effects appear to grow and are constructive as internal working models which shape our behavior, self perception, sense of self, and our expectations of other people.
Puberty is a difficult time for any child, but for transgender teens, it can be the difference between becoming who they want to be or remaining in the wrong body. In June of this year, PBS Frontline released a documentary, entitled Growing Up Trans, which chronicled the lives of eight transgender and nonbinary children, from the ages of 9 to 19, as they navigated through the process of transitioning to their prefered genders. Some of the kids took hormone blockers to slow down their puberty, others were going through puberty at the time and wanted to transition before it was complete, and one had already gone through puberty and was still taking hormones to transition. The controversy revolving around the documentary focused on whether or
Each day, a new abundance of transgenders are finally identifying as their true self. Even though nothing can stop this flow of transgenders, an accepting, loving, and safe society can encourage more of these individuals to be who they truly are. Instead of shaming these human beings for who they are, our generation needs to worry about our own decisions, and learn to embrace and accept others’ decisions. Truly, this is a problem. Just as anyone else, transgenders deserve to feel safe, accepted, and comfortable at home, school, work, and where they choose to go. After all, we are all human beings,
Listening to a child’s viewpoint in today’s world is one technique to fully understand what they are thinking about and why they would be thinking about it. These children are having a horde of thoughts streaming through their mind with the foster children transitioning into a new home and receiving a new family. Although, the foster child is not the only one feeling anxious about the switch into another home but the f...
Seventy-three transgender children who were allowed to express their gender identity freely, forty-nine of their siblings and seventy-three non-transgender children were involved in the study. None of the transgender children had taken hormone, but they lived freely to express their gender identity. The study measured anxiety and depression levels. For depression levels all the numbers were almost all the same. Anxiety levels for all the children varied. Transgender children had higher levels of depression and anxiety than the siblings or non-transgender children, but the variables were only one or two numbers more. These transgender children were relatively happy with their lives as they were able to live with the gender identity they wanted. Letting transgender live the identity they feel comfortable can improve their mental health in the long run. (“Transgender
Living life as a transgendered person is not easy. There are very few times when someone comes out as transgender and their lives are still relatively easy to manage. There are a copious...
In all these stages in life, there can be isolation, hiding and secrets, which may lead to depression and anxiety. Transgender adults are much more likely to have suicidal thoughts, with 50% of adults reporting some suicidal ideation. It has been observed that there are two paths that people take early on: either one tries to hide their inner feeling of being the wrong gender and “passes” for what looks like a boy or girl, or one is incapable of hiding and presents as either a tom-boyish girl or a feminine boy. Either path comes with problems for one’s emotional development. The second scenario is that a person may opt to present as gender non-conforming and is known to elicit harsh responses from society. This is true for non-transgender
...er roles. The US has medicalize transgenderism to being a disorder where they face transsexualism, this act of diagnosing transsexualism as a disorder is also dangerous because it would make the child feel as though they are an anomaly. What some parents have recommended for people who have transgender children to is just let them embrace it and to help them to be happy with who they are. The parents say to do this because the child would feel depression and face problems developing in the future.
For most people, the idea of Transgenders is new and complicated. Because the idea is so fresh, many adults struggle with how to address this topic to the children because they lack knowledge
In the scholarly journal “Gender Dysphoria in Children” the author, Michelle Cretella, writes, “Zucker believes that gender-dysphoric pre-pubertal children are best served by helping them align their gender identity with their anatomic sex” (Cretella). She refers to a well-known doctor that goes by the name of Dr. Kenneth Zucker and conveys his opinions on letting the kids who are diagnosed with the disorder realign their gender to what they believe they are. Not only will this help the child, but the child should also get proper information from their physician and should be well informed (Cretella). Bryant, the author of the article “Gender Dysphoria," writes, “the level of controversy and debate increased, partly because of the work of transgender, intersex, and gay and lesbian social movements but also because of critiques made within the medical and mental health professions both by individuals and by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transsexual (LGBT) professional organizations” (Bryant). Bryant outlines the controversy behind letting kids who are diagnosed with Gender Dysphoria, and he says the dispute derives from the doctor's opinions and the way they go