“I Was Resilient Before I Knew That Resilience Was a Thing”: Transgender and Nonbinary People’s Perspectives on Resilience

Abstract

More research is needed on the ways trans and nonbinary (TNB) people are resilient in the face of oppression to develop empowering interventions that mitigate mental health disparities. Much of the research on TNB resilience thus far does not consider how group-level and community-level factors, as well as privilege and oppression, influence resilience. The current study took a community-centered approach by understanding how TNB community members conceptualize resilience and gathering their perceptions of a new framework of TNB resilience, the Multidimensional Framework of TNB Resilience. The Multidimensional Framework of TNB Resilience uses a socioecological framework to highlight five dimensions of resilience (i.e., individual, interpersonal, community, societal, and intersectional). We conducted five focus groups with 26 TNB adults (62% BIPOC; 58% nonbinary), ranging in age from 20 to 66 years old (M = 32.96) and used reflexive thematic analysis to generate themes related to TNB perceptions of resilience. Three themes were generated: (a) resilience is shaped by individual history and context; (b) safeguarding against romanticizing resilience; and (c) yes, and . . . resilience is complicated. These themes showed that the Multidimensional Framework of TNB Resilience was aligned with community perceptions of resilience. Furthermore, the results emphasized that TNB resilience differs based on context as well as power and privilege. Future research should attend to these nuances in conceptualizing and measuring resilience rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Keywords

resilience transgender nonbinary gender minority focus groups

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