Analyzing the Psycho-social Processes of Transgender Students in University of Tehran

A person may have the characteristics of a gender from a biological point of view, but he does not consider himself to belong to that gender from the psychological point of view. This phenomenon is called transsexuality. These people experience a series of tensions and pressures in different dimensions on the path of dissatisfaction with their gender and its roles. The tertiary education period, due to the sensitivities of the transitional period and the transition of students from the borders of maturity and personal independence, is always a period full of tensions and stresses that students experience. The complexity of the situation for transsexual students is twofold. The purpose of this research is to analyze the psycho-social processes of transsexual students in Tehran University.

The present research is a qualitative type of grounded theory, which was carried out in the academic years of 2017 and 2018. The data of the current research has been collected using semi-structured individual interviews. Participants studied in this research were eight male-to-female transgender students (MtF). The current research was conducted using purposeful sampling, which was based on theoretical saturation interviews.

The feeling of isolation, rejection, and discrimination in different dimensions and attempts to self-harm are the dominant states experienced by these people, and finally, the awareness of the possibility of change and being on the path of treatment can be helpful in terms of quality and hope of life, and it can also help transgender people improve their social relations. In the path of these changes and developments, the type of interactions of such people considering family-social support are among the most important challenges related to these people.

According to the discussed topics, the concerns of transsexual students in the context of academic environments are of great importance. Paying attention to the sensitivities related to gender, age, and the gender of these students during Psycho-social Processes can be effective and practical in supporting the policies.