Parental Acceptance or Rejection of Gender Variant Youth: Implications for Young Adult Attachment Anxiety

Gender as a social construct has traditionally been defined in binary terms (male/female). However, there has been an increase in the understanding and acceptance of gender as a spectrum. Although more individuals are identifying as gender variant or expressing variance in gender norms, those whose gender does not conform to the traditional binary are more likely to experience poor outcomes in a variety of contexts than their cisgender counterparts. Youth who are gender variant are more likely to experience poor mental health, victimization and discrimination, and homelessness. Parental acceptance or rejection of gender variance in youth may work as protective or risk factors, respectively, and different factors may contribute to how accepting or rejecting a parent might be of gender variance. This acceptance or rejection may play a crucial role in how youth adjust over time, and in particular how they create and maintain relationships with others as they move into adulthood. This study sought to examine the roles of parental acceptance and rejection of gender variant youth on young adult attachment anxiety. Young adults ages 18-24 were asked to retrospectively assess gender variant behavior in youth, parental attitudes toward gender variance, and current attachment anxiety in relationships. Parental acceptance and parental rejection of gender variance in youth were examined as mediators between gender variance and young adult attachment anxiety. Multiple regression models were conducted to analyze the mediation model as well as several moderators that sought to assess the impact of parental education, parental income, family structure, and parental religiosity on gender variance and parental acceptance and parental rejection. Parental acceptance was not a significant mediator of gender variance in youth and current young adult attachment anxiety but was significant as a direct effect; higher degrees of reported parental acceptance was associated with lower attachment anxiety scores. Parental rejection was not a significant predictor, indicating that acceptance is crucial for young people who are gender variant and potentially has implications for the role of acceptance from those who are not parents. Parental education, parental income, family structure, and parental religiosity also all played a significant role in moderating the relationship between gender variance and parental acceptance and rejection. More research is needed on the experiences of gender variant youth and the role of acceptance and environmental factors that may contribute to more positive attitudes about gender variance. It is clear that acceptance of gender variance plays an important role in minimizing adverse outcomes, and social workers can contribute to facilitating this acceptance in all arenas of social work policy, practice, research, and education.