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Doctoral project: Lived experience of children and youth 4–17 years with gender-creative identities/expressions and their parents/legal guardians in Sweden

This qualitative doctoral project explores the lived experience of children and youth who identify as some other gender than their assigned at birth, as well as their parents' experiences related to their children’s gender identity.

Project information

Doctoral student
Kristiina Tyni
Main supervisor
Anna Bratt
Assistant supervisors
Idor Svensson; Matilda Wurm, Örebro University
Timetable
1 April 2019–28 Nov 2025
Subject
Clinical psychology (Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health and Life Sciences)

More about the project

Research on the lived experiences of children and youth related to transgender identities is limited, especially outside and prior to gender-affirming care. Specifically, we know very little about the experiences of prepubescent children.

The overarching aim of this doctoral project is to increase knowledge about the phenomenon of "gender-creative identities/expressions" among children and adolescents as they define, describe, and express it themselves, in relation to themselves and their surroundings, in everyday life and over time, as well as how parents/legal guardians are affected. Listening to the families’ own voices, thereby providing an insider perspective, is an important aim in itself, as they are the experts on their own experiences.

Given that the majority of research conducted in this area is medical and/or psychiatric, another goal of the study is to broaden and deepen the knowledge, thus contributing to a more nuanced understanding of gender-creative/transgender identities among children and adolescents and their parents/legal guardians. Furthermore, most of the existing research has been conducted in the U.S., making studies based on Swedish conditions necessary, considering, for instance, cultural differences.

The doctoral study is published as four separate articles, three of which were released in 2024–2025. The dissertation is planned for the 28th of November 2025.

  1. Tyni, K., Wurm, M., Nordström, T., & Bratt, A. S. (2024). A systematic review and qualitative research synthesis of the lived experiences and coping of transgender and gender diverse youth 18 years or younger. International Journal of Transgender Health, 25(3), 352–388.
    https://doi. org/10.1080/26895269.2023.2295379
  2. Tyni, K., Wurm, M., & Bratt, A. S. (2024). A thematic analysis of the experiences of prepubertal transgender and gender-diverse children in Sweden. Journal of LGBT Youth, 0(0), 1–24.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/19361653.2024.2 347957
  3. Tyni, K., Wurm, M., & Bratt, A. S. (2025). Existential dimensions of the lived experiences of transgender youths 13-16 years in a cisnormative Swedish context. International Journal of Transgender Health, 0(0), 1–16.
    https://doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2440864
  4. (In progress) An article on parents' lived experiences of their child expressing/coming out with a gender identity different from their legally assigned.