Updated March 15, 2023

This is a collection of resources that NCFR has gathered on family-related research on transgender individuals. NCFR will continue to add to this collection as new research becomes available.

Please also see the NCFR research summary, Critical Benefits of Familial and Community Support for Transgender Youth and the NCFR Board of Directors’ Statement in Response to Recent Anti-Transgender Legislation.

NCFR Journal Articles

• Catalpa, J.M., &  McGuire, J.K. (2018). Family Boundary Ambiguity Among Transgender Youth. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, 67, 88-103. doi:10.1111/fare.12304

• Dierckx, M., Mortelmans, D., Motmans, J., & T'Sjoen, G. (2017). Resilience in Families in Transition: What Happens When a Parent Is Transgender?. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, 66, 399-411. doi:10.1111/fare.12282

• Kuvalanka, K.A., Allen, S.H., Munroe, C., Goldberg, A.E., & Weiner, J.L. (2017). The Experiences of Sexual Minority Mothers with Trans* Children. Family Relations: Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science, 67, 70-87. doi:10.1111/fare.12226

• Kuvalanka, K.A.  (2018). Trans Families: A Review of Three Documentaries. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10, 313-320. doi:10.1111/jftr.12247

• Liu, H., & Wilkinson, L. (2017). Marital Status and Perceived Discrimination Among Transgender People. Journal of Marriage and Family, 79, 1295-1313. doi:10.1111/jomf.12424

• McGuire, J.K., Kuvalanka, K.A., Catalpa, J.M., & Toomey, R.B. (2016). Transfamily Theory: How the Presence of Trans* Family Members Informs Gender Development in Families. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 8, 60-73. doi:10.1111/jftr.12125

• Okrey Anderson, S., & McGuire, J. K. (2021). "I feel like God doesn't like me": Faith and ambiguous loss among transgender youth. Family Relations: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Applied Family Science. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/fare.12536

• Platt, L.F. (2018). Queering Families: The Postmodern Partnerships of Cisgender Women and Transgender Men. Journal of Family Theory & Review, 10, 697-701. doi:10.1111/jftr.12277

• Reczek, R., & Bosley-Smith, E. (2021). How LGBTQ adults maintain ties with rejecting parents: Theorizing “conflict work” as family work. Journal of Marriage and Family. Advanced online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12765

• Robinson, B.A. (2018). Conditional Families and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Youth Homelessness: Gender, Sexuality, Family Instability, and Rejection. Journal of Marriage and Family, 80, 383-396. doi:10.1111/jomf.12466

• Tabor, J. (2018). Mom, dad, or somewhere in between: Role‐relational ambiguity and children of transgender parents. Journal of Marriage and Family, 81(2), 506-519. https://doi.org/10.1111/jomf.12537

NCFR Publications

• Galos, D.L., Hall, E., & McGuire, J.K. (2016, March). The Definition of Family Is Changing, and It Matters to Our Work. NCFR Report, FF67, 3-4.

• Hughes, R.L., Heiden-Rootes, K., Wiegand, A., & Bono, D. (2016, March). Suicide Risk and Protective Factors in the Family for LGBTQ Adults and Adolescents. NCFR Report, FF67, 17, 19, 21.

• Maurer, L. (2016, September). Restroom Access as a Basic Right. NCFR Report, FF69, 12-13, 24.

• Maurer, L. (2014). What Research Tells Us About LGBT Youth and Risk, and How it Informs Our Practice. CFLE Network, 26.1, 8-9

• Routon, J. M. (2019). Living on the margins: Sexual and gender minorities and housing instability. National Council on Family Relations Report Family Focus, 64.2(FF80), F10-F11,F18.

• Schoenike, C., Jurek, M. & Barnett, A.E. (2016, September). Transgender Discrimination and Poverty: Barriers to Human Rights. NCFR Report, FF69, 14-15.

NCFR Conference Sessions

• Heiden-Rootes, K., Meyer, D., Sledge, R., Dellinger, J., Kent, M., Matos, J., Rianda, L., Mitchell, S., Walsh, B., VanBergen, A., & Bermea, A. (2020, November 4-13). LGBTQIA persons: A focus on measurement, families, and wellbeing [Conference session]. National Council on Family Relations, Saint Paul, MN, United States. www.ncfr.org/ncfr-2020/session/207-lgbtqia-persons-focus-measurement-families-and-wellbeing

• Heiden-Rootes, K., Benson, K., & Brennan, L. (2020, November 4-13). Transgender and nonbinary youth and families: A systemic conversation and call to action [Conference session]. National Council on Family Relations, Saint Paul, MN, United States. www.ncfr.org/ncfr-2020/session/228-transgender-and-nonbinary-youth-and-families-systemic-conversation-and-call

• McGuire, J.K., Catalpa, J.M., Kuvalanka, K.A., Goldberg, A.E., Fish, J.N., Russell, S.F. (2017, November 15-18). Transgender Youth and Young Adults in Context [Conference session]. National Council on Family Relations, Orlando, FL, United States. https://learning.ncfr.org/course/view.php?id=66 

• McGuire, J. K., & Fish, J. N. (2018, November 7-10). Family gender environment links to psychological well-being [Paper presentation]. National Council on Family Relations, San Diego, CA, United States. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-2018/session/transgender-youth-and-young-adults-family-social-and-community-contexts

• Oswald, R.F., Routon, J., Holman, E., Manley, M.H., Goldberg, A.E., Ross, L.E., Rice, T., Ogolsky, B., Monk, K., Mendez, S.N., Nedela, M.  Murray, M., Grafsky, E.L. (2016, November 2-5). LGBTQ Family Members in Community Contexts [Conference session]. National Council on Family Relations, Minneapolis, MN, United States. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-2016/watch-and-listen/lgbtq-family-members-community-contexts

• Quinn, D.A., C. Andrew Conway, C.A., Allen, S.H., Anderson, E.A. (2017, November 15-18). Policies and Transgender Health and Well-being: A Family Lifecourse Analysis [Conference session]. National Council on Family Relations, Orlando, FL, United States. 
  https://learning.ncfr.org/course/view.php?id=66 

• Virginia, H., & Goldberg, A. (2020, November 4-13). Transgender students’ experiences of family support and financial burden in graduate school: A qualitative study [Poster presentation]. National Council on Family Relations, Saint Paul, MN, United States. https://www.ncfr.org/ncfr-2020/session/422-173-ff-transgender-students-experiences-family-support-and-financial-burden

Additional Scholarly Articles 

• Brown, C., Eisenberg, M., Gower, A., Sieving, R., McMorris, B., Porta, C., & Rider, G. N. (2021). “We tried to have the talk:” Transgender and gender diverse youth experiences with parent-youth communication about sexuality. Journal of Adolescent Health, 68(2), S35. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.12.073

• Brown, C., Porta, C. M., Eisenberg, M. E., McMorris, B. J., & Sieving, R. E. (2020). Family relationships and the health and well-being of transgender and gender-diverse youth: A critical review. LGBT Health, 7, 407-419. https://doi.org/10.1089/lgbt.2019.0200

• Cerwenka, S., Nieder, T. O., Cohen-Kettenis, P., De Cuypere, G., Haraldsen, I. R. H., Kreukels, B. P. C., & Richter-Appelt, H. (2014). Sexual behavior of gender-dysphoric individuals before gender-confirming interventions: A European multicenter study. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 40(5), 457-471. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2013.772550  

• Cheng, P. J., Pastuszak, A. W., Myers, J. B., Goodwin, I. A., & Hotaling, J. M. (2019). Fertility concerns of the transgender patient. Translational Andrology and Urology, 8(3), 209-218. https://doi.org/10.21037/tau.2019.05.09 

• Chew, D., Anderson, J., Williams, K., May, T., & Pang, K. (2018). Hormonal treatment in young people with gender dysphoria: A systematic review. Pediatrics, 141(4), Article e20173742. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3742  

• Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., & Van Goozen, S. H. M. (1998). Pubertal delay as an aid in diagnosis and treatment of a transsexual adolescent. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 7(4), 246-248. https://doi.org/10.1007/s007870050073  

• Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Steensma, T. D., & de Vries, A. L. C. (2011). Treatment of adolescents with gender dysphoria in the Netherlands. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 20(4), 689-700. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2011.08.001   

• Coleman, E., Bockting, W., Botzer, M., Cohen-Kettenis, P., Decuypere, G., Feldman, J., Fraser, L., Green, J., Knudson, G., Meyer, W. J., Monstrey, S., Adler, R. K., Brown, G. R., Devor, A. H., Ehrbar, R., Ettner, R., Eyler, E., Garofalo, R., Karasic, D. H., . . .  Zucker, K. (2012). Standards of care for the health of transsexual, transgender, and gender-nonconforming people, version 7. International Journal of Transgenderism, 13(4), 165-232. https://doi.org/10.1080/15532739.2011.700873  

• Daley, T., Grossoehme, D., McGuire, J. K., Corathers, S, Conard, L., & Lipstien, E. (2019). "I couldn't see a downside": Decision-making about gender-affirming hormone therapy. Journal of Adolescent Health, 65(2), 274-279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.02.018

• de Graaf, N. M., & Carmichael, P. (2019). Reflections on emerging trends in clinical work with gender diverse children and adolescents. Clinical Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 24(2), 353-364. https://doi.org/10.1177/1359104518812924

• de Vries, A. L. C., McGuire, J. K., Steensma, T. D., Wagenaar, E. C. F., Doreleijers, T. A. H., & Cohen-Kettenis, P. T. (2014). Young adult psychological outcome after puberty suppression and gender reassignment. Pediatrics, 134(4), 696-704. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-2958

• Diamond, G. M., Boruchovitz-Zamir, R., Gat, I. & Nir-Gottlieb, O. (2019). Relationship-focused therapy for sexual and gender minority individuals and their parents. In. J. E. Pachankis, John & S. Safren (Eds.), Handbook of evidence-based mental health practice with sexual and gender minorities (pp. 430-456). Oxford University Press.

• Dubin, S., Lane, M., Morrison, S., Radix, A., Belkind, U., Vercler, C., & Inwards-Breland, D. (2020). Medically assisted gender affirmation: When children and parents disagree. Journal of Medical Ethics, 46(5), 295-299. https://doi.org/10.1136/medethics-2019-105567

• Durwood, L., McLaughlin, K. A., & Olson K. R. (2016). Mental health and self-worth in socially transitioned transgender youth. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(2), 116–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2016.10.016

• Gibson, D. J., Glazier, J. J., & Olson, K. R. (2021). Evaluation of anxiety and depression in a community sample of transgender youth. Journal of the American Medical Association, 4(4), Article e214739. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.4739

• Goldberg, A. E., & Kuvalanka, K. A. (2018). Navigating identity development and community belonging when “there are only two boxes to check:” An exploratory study of nonbinary trans college students. Journal of LGBT Youth, 15, 106-131. https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2018.1429979

• Gower, A. L., Rider, G. N., Brown, C., McMorris, B. J., Coleman, E., Taliaferro, L. A., & Eisenberg, M. E. (2018). Supporting transgender and gender diverse youth: Protection against emotional distress and substance use. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 55(6), 787-794. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2018.06.030

• Hatzenbuehler, M. L., Shen, Y., Vandewater, E. A., & Russell, S. T. (2019). Proposition 8 and homophobic bullying in California. Pediatrics, 143(6), Article e20182116. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2018-2116

• Jensen, R. K., Jensen, J. K., Simons, L. K., Chen, D., Rosoklija, I., & Finlayson, C. A. (2019). Effect of concurrent gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment on dose and side effects of gender-affirming hormone therapy in adolescent transgender patients. Transgender Health, 4(1), 300-303. https://doi.org/10.1089/trgh.2018.0061 

• Johnson, S. L., & Benson, K. E. (2014). “It’s always the mother’s fault”: Secondary stigma of mothering a transgender child. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 10, 124-144. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2014.857236

• Kuper, L. E., Stewart, S., Preston, S., Lau, M., & Lopez, X. (2020). Body dissatisfaction and mental health outcomes of youth on gender-affirming hormone therapy. Pediatrics, 145(4), Article e20193006. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-3006 

• Kuvalanka, K. A., Weiner, J. L., & Mahan, D. (2014). Child, family, and community transformations: Findings from interviews with mothers of transgender girls. Journal of GLBT Family Studies, 10, 354-379. https://doi.org/10.1080/1550428X.2013.834529

• Kuvalanka, K. A., Weiner, J. L., Munroe, C., Goldberg, A. E., & Gardner, M. (2017). Trans and gender-nonconforming children and their caregivers: Gender presentations, peer relations, and well-being at baseline. Journal of Family Psychology, 31(7), 889-899. https://doi.org/10.1037/fam0000338

• Olson, K. R., Durwood, L., DeMeules, M., McLaughlin, K. A. (2016). Mental health of transgender children who are supported in their identities. Pediatrics, 137(3), Article e20153223. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-3223

• Olson-Kennedy, J., Chan, Y.-M., Garofalo, R., Spack, N., Chen, D., Clark, L., Ehrensaft, D., Hidalgo, M., Tishelman, A., & Rosenthal, S. (2019). Impact of early medical treatment for transgender youth: Protocol for the Longitudinal, Observational Trans Youth Care Study. Journal of Medical Internet Research-Research Protocols, 8(7), Article e14434. https://doi.org/10.2196/14434 

• Perez-Brumer, A., Day, J. K., Russell, S. T., & Hatzenbuehler, M. L. (2017). Prevalence and correlates of suicidal ideation among transgender youth in California: findings from a representative, population-based sample of high school students. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 56(9), 739-746. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaac.2017.06.010

• Russell, S. T., Pollitt, A. M., Li, G., & Grossman, A. H. (2018). Chosen name use is linked to reduced depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior among transgender youth. Journal of Adolescent Health, 63(4), p. 503-505. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2018.02.003

• Schagen, S. E. E., Cohen-Kettenis, P. T., Delemarre-van de Waal, H. A., & Hannema, S. E. (2016). Efficacy and safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist treatment to suppress puberty in gender dysphoric adolescents. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 13(7), 1125-1132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2016.05.004

• Turban, J. L., King, D., Carswell, J. M., & Keuroghlian, A. S. (2020). Pubertal suppression for transgender youth and risk of suicidal ideation. Pediatrics, 145(2), Article e20191725. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1725

• van der Miesen, A. I. R., Steensma, T. D., de Vries, A. L. C., Bos, H., & Popma, A. (2020). Pyschological functioning in transgender adolescents before and after gender-affirmative care compared with cisgender general population peers. Journal of Adolescent Health, 66(6), 699-704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2019.12.018

Additional Resources

• Alberti, P. M., Alvarado, C. S., Bishop, M. D., Cassidy, D. M., Fish, J. N., Mallory, A. B., Moran, S. A., Piepenbrink, S., & Ramsey, P. (2023). To protect evidence-based medicine and promote health justice, protect gender-affirming medical care. Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Health Justice. https://www.aamchealthjustice.org/news/policy/gamc-trans-youth

• Toomey, R. B., McGuire, J. K., Olson, K. R., Baams, L., & Fish, J. N. (2022). Gender-Affirming Policies Support Transgender and Gender Diverse Youth’s Health. Society for Research in Child Development. Retrieved from https://www.srcd.org/research/gender-affirming-policies-support-transgender-and-gender-diverse-youths-health

• Freedom For All Americans. (2021, April 23). Tracking LBGT-related legislation nationwide. https://freedomforallamericans.org/legislative-tracker/

• Goldberg, A. E. (2018). Transgender Students in Higher Education. The Williams Institute. Retrieved from https://williamsinstitute.law.ucla.edu/research/trans-in-higher-ed/

• Green, E.R., & Maurer, L. (2015). The Teaching Transgender Toolkit: A Facilitator’s Guide to Increasing Knowledge, Decreasing Prejudice & Building Skills. Out for Health & Planned Parenthood of the Southern Finger Lakes. http://www.teachingtransgender.org/

• Kosciw, J. G., Clark, C. M., Truong, N. L., & Zongrone, A. D. (2020). The 2019 National School Climate Survey: The experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer youth in our nation’s schools. New York: GLSEN. www.glsen.org/sites/default/files/2021-04/NSCS19-FullReport-032421-Web_0.pdf

• McGuire, J.K., Mahan, D., Lacey, V., & Hoelscher, M.C. (2017). Mental Health of Transgender Youth: The Role of Family, School, and Community in Promoting Resilience. University of Minnesota Extension. Retrieved from the University of Minnesota Digital Conservancy, http://hdl.handle.net/11299/187823. (Executive summary also available)

Multimedia

• Erickson, M. & Erickson, E. (Co-hosts). (2019, July 15). Parenting Transgender Youth or Gender Nonconforming Individuals: A Conversation with Jenifer McGuire from the U of M’s College of Education & Human Development [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://momenough.com/2019/07/parenting-transgender-nonconforming-youth

Websites

• Transgender Inclusive Communication — Mathematica. Retreived from https://mathematica.org/features/transgender-inclusive-communication