Focus groups as a tool for enhancing pride and community connectedness among transgender and gender diverse research participants.

Purpose: Focus groups are a qualitative method of collecting data by engaging a small group of participants in a structured discussion about a specific topic. When research centers on a social issue or a minoritized population, focus groups can serve as a particularly powerful method for data collection by empowering participants and making them a partner in the research process. Focus groups conducted with transgender and gender diverse participants, specifically, have been found to have positive outcomes, such as promoting a sense of belonging and the opportunity to connect with other TGD individuals. Although previous studies have established the potential for focus groups to promote positive outcomes among TGD participants, there is a need for quantitatively testing specific positive outcomes of TGD individuals participating in focus groups. The current study aims to evaluate the effects of focus group participation on a sense of pride and community connectedness among TGD individuals. Method: Focus groups were conducted to explore the construct of gender euphoria and the role of art in eliciting it. The present study is centered around both the qualitative feedback from participants as well as the quantitative results of the pre- and post-focus group surveys. Each participant completed a survey before and after participating in the focus group. Results: Participation in focus groups was found to increase a sense of pride among TGD individuals. In contrast to what was expected, however, focus group participation did not lead to an increase in a sense of community connectedness. Despite this, the qualitative data show that participants did engage in acts of community connectedness, such as resource sharing. Conclusion: These findings highlight the beneficial attributes of focus group methodology.