Age, Autonomy, and Authority of Knowledge: Discursive Constructions of Youth Decision-Making Capacity and Parental Support in Transgender Minors’ Accounts of Healthcare Access

Abstract

While access to care is known to improve health outcomes for transgender youth, these youth often face challenges in accessing care related to decision-making capacity and the legal limitations regarding age of consent. In this study, we utilize discourse analytic methods to identify how notions of age, autonomy, and authority of knowledge influence transgender youths’ ability to make agentic decisions about their bodies and health, and better understand the power dynamics present in youths’ relations with parents and providers. We conducted 11 one-on-one interviews with transgender youth between the ages of 13 to 17 and one focus group with high school-age trans youth ( n = 8) in the Seattle-Tacoma area of Washington state. We identified two sets of discourses: (1) discourses of autonomy, which included self-determination, confidentiality, and authority of knowledge and (2) discourses of support, which included role ambiguity, trust/mistrust, and good and bad parents. Findings from this study highlight power dynamics present in trans youths’ relations with parents and providers.