Lived Experiences of Empowerment in Parents of Trans Children and Adolescents

The construct of empowerment is associated with beneficial outcomes in numerous populations with well-being across multiple domains. Within families, empowerment has been found to be related to both parent and child well-being. As such, empowerment appears to be a promising concept to support parents of young (<18 years) trans and gender diverse children and adolescents; however, what empowerment means for parents of trans children and adolescents is not known. This study aimed to characterize empowerment for parents of trans and gender diverse children and adolescents from their lived experiences. To accomplish this, a qualitative design was implemented using reflexive thematic analysis to describe what the lived experience of empowerment is for N = 18 (12 mothers and six fathers) Australian parents of trans children and adolescents under 18 years of age. Four primary themes best described the accounts offered by the participants, with empowerment consisting of (1) having knowledge and information, (2) advocating for their child or adolescent, (3) experiencing a sense of belonging to an accepting community, and (4) experiencing support and help from professionals and systems. These findings support establishing high-quality, easy-to-access, and understandable informational resources for parents and better education and training of professionals and organizations to enhance the empowerment of parents of trans children and adolescents.