ABSTRACT

The psychological wellbeing of Queer and Gender Diverse Young People (QGDYP) has received attention of late, and increasing research evidences much higher rates of psychological distress experienced by these groups, compared to their straight, cisgender counterparts. Far more limited is research exploring queer and gender diverse young people’s own perspectives on their psychological wellbeing, an absence we address with the current study. We interviewed 21 queer or gender diverse 16–18-year-olds in Aotearoa New Zealand about their understandings of mental health and wellbeing. We took a critical realist thematic approach to analysis. This paper focuses on how participants made sense of their own distress. We explore and unpack three intersecting key themes around: 1) cisheterosexism, but not personally affected; 2) dismissal of QGDYP; and 3) validation and comfort in the biomedical model. We discuss the tensions of articulating these positions and (also) challenging cisheterosexism, and the implications for recognising and reducing the distress experienced by queer and gender diverse youth. We aim to inform policy and practice to support and ultimately improve psychological wellbeing for queer and gender diverse young people.

摘要

酷儿和性别多样化年轻人 (QGDYP) 的心理健康最近受到关注，越来越多的研究表明，与直男、顺性别者相比，这些群体经历的心理困扰率要高得多。更有限的是探索酷儿和性别多样化的年轻人对他们心理健康的看法的研究，我们在当前的研究中解决了这一缺失。我们采访了新西兰 Aotearoa 的 21 名 16 至 18 岁的酷儿或性别不同的青少年，了解他们对心理健康和福祉的理解。我们采用批判现实主义主题方法进行分析。本文重点关注参与者如何理解自己的痛苦。我们围绕以下三个相互交叉的关键主题展开探索和展开：1）同性恋，但不受个人影响；2）解聘QGDYP；3) 生物医学模型的验证和舒适度。我们讨论了阐明这些立场和（也）挑战双性恋主义的紧张局势，以及识别和减少酷儿和性别多元化青年所经历的痛苦的意义。我们旨在为政策和实践提供信息，以支持并最终改善酷儿和性别多样化的年轻人的心理健康。