Experiences of Gender-Diverse Youth Living With Chronic Pain

Although sex differences in pain are well documented, little is known regarding the relationship between gender and pain. Gender-diverse youth experience unique pain risk factors, including minority stress exposure, but are underrepresented in research.

Elicit experiences of gender-diverse youth who live with chronic pain.

Semistructured interviews were conducted with youth virtually using Zoom. Youth were recruited from a Canadian tertiary care pediatric hospital, community-based clinics, and the general population. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed with a patient partner using reflexive thematic analysis, integrating relevant existing theoretical and empirical models for understanding gender and pain, identity development, minority stress, and intersectionality.

The final sample included 19 youth who represented a variety of gender identities and pain conditions and reported accessing a range of types and levels of care. Three themes were identified through qualitative analysis: (1) the fight to legitimize both their pain and gender, (2) the tension between affirming gender and managing pain and the role of gender euphoria as a buffer against pain, and (3) the role of intersecting (eg, neurodiversity and race) identities in understanding gender-diverse youths' pain experiences.

In a diverse sample of gender-diverse youth who live with chronic pain, experiences of invalidation and difficulty managing pain were experienced in the context of unique stressors and sources of joy in living as a gender-diverse individual. These results point to the need for more intersectional and affirming pain research and integration of findings into clinical practice.