Mental health: What can gender and neurodivergent young folk tell us about their experience in schools and what schools can do to support them?

Supervisor: Sarah/Cora

Empirical: 

Research suggests that cis-normativity is established and encouraged in Western culture from a young age with young people feeling pressured to conform. Those who do not conform such as gender-divergent people, report significantly poorer mental health than their peers. Recent research has found that a growing number of individuals who identify as gender divergent are those who are neurodivergent. Neurodivergent individuals report poorer mental health outcomes than their neurotypical peers and as a population experience the highest level of emotional-based school non-attendance. There is a small, evolving body of literature exploring the intersection of these two identities. However, this research has yet to explore how belonging to both these populations affects mental health, particularly in the context of schools. As such, this study sought to explore young people's experiences of being neuro and gender divergent in school, and how these identities intersected and impacted their school experiences, with a focus on their mental health. This study also looked at what schools are doing and could do to support the mental health of this population. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 12 young people aged between 16-19 attending sixth forms, colleges, and universities across England. Through the process of reflexive thematic analysis, four themes were developed. Participants acknowledged that their neurodivergent traits had a greater impact on their school experience and mental health compared to their gender identity. This was because the journey towards discovering their authentic gender identity occurred later than their exploration of their neurodivergence, which had been a part of their academic journey from the beginning, whether this was consciously or unconsciously. Participants also noted that understanding teachers, acknowledgment, bespoke support, representation, and a supportive school community were all protective factors. Implications for educational professionals are also discussed.

Systematic literature review: 

Being from a minority group impacts the way children and young people experience and navigate identity development. Intersectionality research looking at the experiences of individuals from multi-minority groups (individuals who hold two or more minority identities such as black women, disabled queer people, or transgender neurodivergent individuals) has found that being from multiple minority groups does impact an individual's experience of identity development. However, this research has been restricted to exploring the impact of being from one or two specific minority groups in specific cultural and geographic contexts. Empirical research is yet to be collated to explore identity development experiences across different intersections. Thus, through a three-stage thematic synthesis approach, a review was conducted to explore: how children and young people from multiple minority groups experience and navigate identity development. Three analytical themes were developed and indicate that being from multiple minority groups impacts how people navigate and experience identity development in several ways. Participants experienced pressure to mask and fit in, confusion around identity, and a need to reject and reframe the perceptions of others to be able to live authentically. The strengths,  limitations, and implications of these findings are also discussed.