Psychosocial Protective Factors among Transwomen: A Qualitative Study

The transgender community is one of the most stigmatized groups in society, and the community faces significant challenges with an elevated risk for psychosocial adaptation. Despite the risk factors, some of them are resilient and are able to flourish in their lives. The need to study and promote protective factors enables an individual to decrease or avoid the negative consequences linked with risk factors. The present study focuses on exploring and expanding the understanding of the protective factors that nurture resilience in transgenders. Using a semi-structured interview schedule, individual in-depth interviews were conducted with 12 transwomen from a mid-sized city in South India. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the interviews, which were recorded, transcribed, and coded. The themes namely, purposeful life, interpersonal skills, personal goals, acceptance of gender identity, positive coping strategies, social support, and positive health care that emerged from the interviews indicated the protective factors in the lives of transgenders. Protective factors play a critical role in nurturing health and well-being among this stigmatized transgender population. Future research should concentrate on interventions and training programs targeting the protective factors that are most relevant and important for this marginalized group that can help them to navigate through the risk factors faced by them in their lives.