Queer and transgender young people are overrepresented among youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Families' rejection of their youth's queer and transgender identities is one of the causes of this overrepresentation, as families force young people out of the home or create a home environment that is so hostile that youth chose to leave. While the relationship between family rejection and queer and trans youth homelessness is well-documented quantitatively, there is not a scholarly consensus on what family rejection looks like, how queer and trans youth experiences that rejection, and how they make decisions about where to live after leaving home.
This dissertation study used grounded theory methodology to examine these questions. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen queer and trans young adults who had experienced both family rejection of their queer or trans identities and housing instability. Study participants reported a variety of rejection behaviors from their families after coming out as queer or trans, including escalating abuse and neglect, heterosexist and cisgenderist conflict, silence and isolation, and controlling youth's appearance. These actions caused youth to feel pain, disconnect from their families, stifled, resistance, and uncertainty. When making decisions about when and how to leave the family home and where to live, youth reported three techniques of resilience: strategizing, coping, and connecting. The findings illustrate how young people are resilient when confronted with the dual stress of family rejection and housing instability and offer implications for social work research and practice.
","abstract_html":"<p>Queer and transgender young people are overrepresented among youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Families' rejection of their youth's queer and transgender identities is one of the causes of this overrepresentation, as families force young people out of the home or create a home environment that is so hostile that youth chose to leave. While the relationship between family rejection and queer and trans youth homelessness is well-documented quantitatively, there is not a scholarly consensus on what family rejection looks like, how queer and trans youth experiences that rejection, and how they make decisions about where to live after leaving home.</p> <p>This dissertation study used grounded theory methodology to examine these questions. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen queer and trans young adults who had experienced both family rejection of their queer or trans identities and housing instability. Study participants reported a variety of rejection behaviors from their families after coming out as queer or trans, including escalating abuse and neglect, heterosexist and cisgenderist conflict, silence and isolation, and controlling youth's appearance. These actions caused youth to feel pain, disconnect from their families, stifled, resistance, and uncertainty. When making decisions about when and how to leave the family home and where to live, youth reported three techniques of resilience: strategizing, coping, and connecting. The findings illustrate how young people are resilient when confronted with the dual stress of family rejection and housing instability and offer implications for social work research and practice.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["DeChants, Jonah P."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ph.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Kimberly Bender, Ph.D.","Yoli Anyon, Ph.D.","Karen Albright, Ph.D.","Jama Shelton, Ph.D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2019,"date_issued":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2019-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:12Z","subjects":["Family rejection","LGBTQ youth","Resilience","Youth homelessness","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies"],"languages":["en"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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This dissertation study used grounded theory methodology to examine these questions. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen queer and trans young adults who had experienced both family rejection of their queer or trans identities and housing instability. Study participants reported a variety of rejection behaviors from their families after coming out as queer or trans, including escalating abuse and neglect, heterosexist and cisgenderist conflict, silence and isolation, and controlling youth's appearance. These actions caused youth to feel pain, disconnect from their families, stifled, resistance, and uncertainty. When making decisions about when and how to leave the family home and where to live, youth reported three techniques of resilience: strategizing, coping, and connecting. The findings illustrate how young people are resilient when confronted with the dual stress of family rejection and housing instability and offer implications for social work research and practice.
"]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["application/pdf"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["\"Somewhere I'm Allowed to Exist as Myself\": A Grounded Theory Exploration of Queer and Trans Young Adults Navigating Family Rejection and Housing Instability"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Kimberly Bender, Ph.D.","Yoli Anyon, Ph.D.","Karen Albright, Ph.D.","Jama Shelton, Ph.D."],"dc:creator":["DeChants, Jonah P."],"dc:date.available":["2021-10-04T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Queer and transgender young people are overrepresented among youth and young adults experiencing homelessness and housing instability. Families' rejection of their youth's queer and transgender identities is one of the causes of this overrepresentation, as families force young people out of the home or create a home environment that is so hostile that youth chose to leave. While the relationship between family rejection and queer and trans youth homelessness is well-documented quantitatively, there is not a scholarly consensus on what family rejection looks like, how queer and trans youth experiences that rejection, and how they make decisions about where to live after leaving home.
This dissertation study used grounded theory methodology to examine these questions. Two in-depth interviews were conducted with fifteen queer and trans young adults who had experienced both family rejection of their queer or trans identities and housing instability. Study participants reported a variety of rejection behaviors from their families after coming out as queer or trans, including escalating abuse and neglect, heterosexist and cisgenderist conflict, silence and isolation, and controlling youth's appearance. These actions caused youth to feel pain, disconnect from their families, stifled, resistance, and uncertainty. When making decisions about when and how to leave the family home and where to live, youth reported three techniques of resilience: strategizing, coping, and connecting. The findings illustrate how young people are resilient when confronted with the dual stress of family rejection and housing instability and offer implications for social work research and practice.
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/1651"],"dc:language":["en"],"dc:rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"dc:subject":["Family rejection","LGBTQ youth","Resilience","Youth homelessness","Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies","Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies"],"dc:title":["\"Somewhere I'm Allowed to Exist as Myself\": A Grounded Theory Exploration of Queer and Trans Young Adults Navigating Family Rejection and Housing Instability"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ph.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:03:12Z"}