45-1 A Dyadic Study on the Interaction between a Transgender and His Family Members Before and After His Coming Out
The purposes of this study were: (1) To discover the process of gender identity of the transgender. (2) To investigate how his family members respond and understand when they hear about his transitioning; and (3) To analyze the change of interaction patterns within his family members. Narrative and dyadic study methods were applied in this study. Participants were consisted of a transgender and his sister. Data analyzation was based on ‘holistic-content’ approach. The results showed that lack of friendly information on gender identity exploration brought more suffering to the transgender. Issues including self-acceptance, a cut-off from one’s previous life, and psychophysical distresses were affected them in the transition process. Acceptance and understanding from his significant others were important for him to build up self-identity. Although the coping strategies were changed from rigid to more flexible, the transgender and his family still go through complicated emotions. Opposition and avoidance by family members raised their conflicts, but formation of alliance, adjustment of communication strategy, and a mutual understanding between the transgender and family managed to improve their interactions and strengthen the transgenders’ support system. The recommendation for a counseling practitioner was served.
Keywords
coming out ； interaction ； transgender
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