Am I eligible?

NOTE: The study is now closed to additional enrollment.  If you would like to be placed on a list of potential participants for future studies, please contact us via email. You can also click the "Resources" tab at the top of this page to learn about other studies from our team or trusted colleagues.

To participate as a transgender teen, you must meet these criteria:

• Identify as a different gender than the one you were assigned at birth (ex: transgender, demiboy, nonbinary, genderqueer, female (if assigned male), male (if assigned female), etc.)

• Live in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont)

• Be 13-17 years old (if you are 12 but will have turned 13 by May 1, 2016, we may be able to schedule you to start after your 13th birthday)

• Have at least one adult who is willing to participate with you.  This can be either a parent/guardian, or a supportive adult whom you nominate if you do not have support from your family

To participate as a parent/caregiver, you must meet these criteria:

• Be the parent/caregiver of a 13-17 year old who lives in New England, identifies as a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth, and is willing to participate in the study

• Live in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont)

• Be 18 years old or older

Note: if you are the second parent/guardian in the study, you do NOT need to live with your transgender teen to participate. 

To participate as a sibling, you must meet these criteria:

• Be the sibling of a 13-17 year old who lives in New England, identifies as a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth, and is willing to participate in the study

• Live in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont)

• Be 13 years old or older.  Adult siblings are very welcome!

To participate as a nominated adult, you must meet these criteria:

• Be nominated to participate by a 13-17 year old who lives in New England, identifies as a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth, and is willing to participate in the study

• Live in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont)

• Be 18 years old or older

To participate as a nominated peer, you must meet these criteria:

• Be nominated to participate by a 13-17 year old who lives in New England, identifies as a different gender than the one they were assigned at birth, and is willing to participate in the study

• Live in New England (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, or Vermont)

• Be 13 years old or older

What does the study involve?

There are two components to the study session: a one-on-one interview with a member of our research team (all of whom are LGBTQ-identified or LGBTQ allies), and an electronic survey which you will take on an iPad.  Both the interview and the survey take place in a private room with only the interviewer; family members will be in separate rooms.

how long will the session take?

Both the interview and survey are designed to take an hour or less apiece, so we budget about two hours for each session.  However, some participants may take less time and others may take more, depending on how much they share during the process. 

where does the session take place?

We try to schedule the sessions at Boston Children's Hospital (BCH), and provide parking vouchers or public transit reimbursement to participants who travel to BCH.  In situations where distance makes it difficult for a family to schedule a visit to BCH, we can do remote visits in certain circumstances.  You can find out more about this during the scheduling process.