Universal Sexual Violence Intervention Effects in a Cluster-Randomized Trial: Moderation by Sexual Orientation.

Sexual minority (e.g., gay/lesbian, bisexual, and queer) students are more likely than their heterosexual peers to experience sexual violence (SV) during college. Interventions that prevent SV and improve SV care-seeking behaviors for sexual minority students are lacking. Giving Information for Trauma Support and Safety (GIFTSS) is an evidence-based universal SV intervention implemented by providers during college health and counseling visits. Compared to controls, GIFTSS participants reported greater self-efficacy to use SV harm reduction strategies and SV disclosure during clinical visits. However, GIFTSS' effectiveness for sexual minority participants is unknown. The current study examines whether sexual orientation moderates GIFTSS' effects on numerous SV-related outcomes (i.e., to test whether intervention effects at 4 and 12 months differed based on sexual orientation). Across 28 college campuses in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, 2,291 students participated in a two-arm cluster-randomized controlled trial. We used mixed models with two- and three-way interaction terms to test whether sexual orientation modified GIFTSS' effects at 4- and 12-month follow-up on participants': SV recognition; knowledge of and self-efficacy to enact SV harm reduction strategies; intentions to intervene; knowledge of and self-efficacy to use SV-related services; SV disclosure during visits; and recent SV exposure. Overall, 22.1% of participants were sexual minorities (n = 507). Sexual orientation moderated GIFTSS effectiveness as indicated by significant three-way interaction (p = .01) at 12-month follow-up, and knowledge of SV services decreased for heterosexual participants (ß = -.23) but increased for sexual minority participants (ß = .23). Our study indicates that universal provider-based education may promote greater knowledge of SV services among sexual minority than heterosexual participants, and population-specific interventions are needed that reduce sexual minority students' SV exposure, service utilization, and other critical aspects of SV prevention on university campuses.Clinical Trial Registration: Registry name: College Health Center-based Alcohol and Sexual Violence Intervention (GIFTSS), Registration number: NCT02355470, Web link: https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02355470, Deidentified individual participant data will not be made available.

Ethnoracial Differences in Past Year Victimization Rates for a National Sample of Gender and Sexual Minority Adolescents.

Little research exists on victimization for gender and sexual minority adolescents (GSMA) of color. This study identifies differences in past year rates across six victimization types for GSMA by ethnoracial identification. Descriptive analyses were conducted on 1,177 GSMA (14-19 years old), with victimization types stratified by ethnoracial identification and multiple logit regression was used to identify differences. Compared to White (non-Hispanic) peers, Black (non-Hispanic) GSMA reported lower victimization rates across multiple categories with two exceptions. Higher rates of racially biased physical assault were noted among Black (non-Hispanic) and bi/multi-ethnoracial GSMA. Higher rates of witnessing community violence were reported by Black (non-Hispanic), bi/multi-ethnoracial, and Latinx GSMA. To address GSMA's needs, we need to understand the differential risk so that our interventions are responsive to the diversity within this community.

LGBTQ+ Youth-Generated Intervention Concepts for Reducing Teen Dating Violence Inequities.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, nonbinary, and other sexual and gender minority (LGBTQ+) youth are at substantially greater risk than cisgender heterosexual youth for experiencing teen dating violence (TDV) victimization, including emotional, physical, and sexual abuse within dating/romantic relationships. Despite these inequities, there are no evidence-based interventions designed specifically to address TDV among LGBTQ+ youth. To redress this dearth of interventions, we utilized a youth-centric approach, wherein 46 LGBTQ+ youth co-developed intervention concepts for reducing TDV. Participants engaged in a process of generating, prioritizing, and refining intervention concepts for reducing TDV inequities using human-centered design activities. LGBTQ+ youth generated eight intervention concepts, including the name, description, audience, problem focus, goals, and process for each. Their interventions focused on strategies for enhancing education, support systems, and advocacy. The intervention concepts had a wide variety of intended audiences, including LGBTQ+ and non-LGBTQ+ youth, teachers, school administrators, and policymakers. Overall, LGBTQ+ youth sought to improve education and skills pertaining to violence, sexual health, and healthy relationships; enhance support systems and resources for students' basic, mental health, and safety needs; and build advocacy channels related to "outing" and LGBTQ+ students' needs. These LGBTQ+ youth-generated programmatic and policy intervention concepts, in addition to our human-centered design approach, can be directly leveraged by health promotion practitioners and prevention experts into future intervention development, implementation, and evaluation efforts to improve LGBTQ+ youth health, well-being, resilience, and advocacy.

A New Gender Microaggressions Taxonomy for Undergraduate Women on College Campuses: A Qualitative Examination.

Gender microaggressions are everyday slights, insults, and invalidations theorized to create and sustain environments in which sexual harassment and assault of women is normative and permissible. Establishing a gender microaggressions taxonomy for undergraduate women may support efforts to improve campus climate and reduce sexual violence. This study aims to identify a gender microaggressions taxonomy for undergraduate women on college campuses. Five qualitative semi-structured focus groups (N = 23) were conducted with 18- to 25-year-old undergraduate women. Purposive sampling was employed and directed content analysis was performed. Seven themes emerged: invisibility, intersectionality, caretaker and nurturer, women-dominated occupations, presumed incompetence, sexual objectification, and environmental invalidations.

LGBTQ Microaggressions and Microaffirmations in Families: Scale Development and Validation Study.

Subtle experiences of both invalidation and support are common for LGBTQ adolescents within their family systems. LGBTQ microaggressions increase the risk for negative health outcomes, while small acts of support and affirmation can bolster adolescent wellbeing. Research on family-level microaggressions and microaffirmations is limited, due to the absence of a theoretically informed and psychometrically tested measure of these constructs. To address this gap, we designed the LGBTQ Microaggressions and Microaffirmations in Families Scale. Using a large national sample of LGBTQ adolescents (N = 952, 14-19 years old), the current article presents the (1) process of item generation, (2) descriptives of scale items, (3) scale's confirmatory factor structure, and (4) indicators of scale reliability and validity. The scale's four-factor structure was confirmed, while demonstrating good reliability and predictive validity. The scale provides researchers with a psychometrically valid measure to assess the lifetime frequency and correlates of LGBTQ microaggressions and microaffirmations.

Advancing Research on LGBTQ Microaggressions: A Psychometric Scoping Review of Measures.

Understanding the nature and consequences of LGBTQ microaggressions is critical to fostering equity and wellbeing among sexual and gender minorities. Yet little guidance is available for researchers seeking psychometrically robust measures of subtle LGBTQ slights, invalidations, and insults. To address this gap, we conducted a scoping review of multi-item quantitative measures that included at least one question addressing LGBTQ microaggressions. This article reports the study characteristics and psychometric properties of 27 original measures we identified and their subsequent adaptations. The article concludes with an assessment of strengths and limitations of LGBTQ microaggression measurement, highlighting aspects of measurement innovation on which future researchers can build. As microaggressions remain a powerful and underexplored mechanism of sexual and gender minority oppression, this review will help to both advance methodological quality in this critical research area and enhance our understanding of how microaggressions manifest in the lives of LGBTQ individuals.

Conducting Anonymous, Incentivized, Online Surveys With Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents: Lessons Learned From a National Polyvictimization Study.

Sexual and gender minority adolescents represent an understudied and hard-to-reach population who experience higher rates of mental and behavioral health problems in comparison to their cisgender, heterosexual peers. Online surveys and the proliferation of Internet-connected devices among adolescents offer an exciting opportunity for researchers to begin addressing research gaps and past methodological limitations with these hard-to-reach populations. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance to researchers who are designing and implementing anonymous, incentivized, online surveys by examining the following critical domains-(a) recruitment and engagement: means of leveraging social media and videos to recruit and engage a more nationally representative sample; (b) safety and protection: strategies for administering informed consent and protecting participant anonymity and well-being; and (c) data integrity: mechanisms to detect dishonest and repeat responders. To facilitate discussion of these aims, concrete examples are used from SpeakOut-a 3-year, national study funded by the National Institute of Justice that utilized an anonymous, incentivized, online survey with a large sample of sexual and gender minority adolescents ( N = 1,177) to identify the prevalence, incidence, and correlates of polyvictimization. The article concludes with lessons learned from this national study and recommendations for technological innovations and future research that will strengthen the utility of anonymous, incentivized, online surveys to study sexual and gender minority adolescents and other hard-to-reach populations.

Social Ecological Correlates of Family-Level Interpersonal and Environmental Microaggressions Toward Sexual and Gender Minority Adolescents.

Microaggressions are associated with mental and behavioral health problems and are common experiences for sexual and gender minority adolescents (SGMA). Little is known about the social ecological correlates of family-level interpersonal and environmental microaggressions for SGMA. Utilizing a national sample of SGMA (N = 1,177), this study (a) identified the frequencies of family-level interpersonal and environmental microaggressions by participant demographics and (b) examined individual-, family-, and structural-level factors associated with interpersonal and environmental microaggressions. Outness to parents, a transgender or genderqueer identity, and higher levels of gender role non-conformity were associated with higher frequencies of interpersonal microaggressions. Higher levels of family-level child maltreatment and religiosity were associated with higher frequencies of interpersonal and environmental microaggressions. State-level non-discrimination protections were associated with lower frequencies of environmental microaggressions. Suggestions for increased individual-level support for gender non-binary adolescents as well as family targeted preventive strategies are discussed. Areas for future research are highlighted.

Bullying Victimization Trajectories for Sexual Minority Adolescents: Stable Victims, Desisters, and Late-Onset Victims.

Sexual minority adolescents are bullied more frequently than heterosexual peers. Research is lacking on their rates of general and sexual orientation bullying victimization. The present study identified (1) the rate, onset, and desistance of general and sexual orientation bullying victimization, (2) the rate of bullying victimization trajectories, and (3) risk and protective factors across trajectories. A life history calendar method and thematic analysis were employed with a sexual minority adolescent sample (N = 52, 14-20 y/o). General bullying began at age 5 and declined after age 12, with sexual orientation bullying increasing throughout adolescence. Late-onset victim (34.6%) was the most common trajectory, followed by stable victim (28.9%), desister (23.1%), and nonvictim (13.5%). Differences in risk and protective factors were found across trajectories.

Social Ecological Correlates of Polyvictimization among a National Sample of Transgender, Genderqueer, and Cisgender Sexual Minority Adolescents.

Polyvictimization is a common experience for youth in the United States, with 20% nationally experiencing five or more different forms of victimization in the last year. Utilizing a large, national convenience sample of sexual and gender minority adolescents (N = 1177, 14-19 years old), the current study aimed to (a) generate the first estimates of last year polyvictimization (including nine victimization subtypes) for transgender, genderqueer, and cisgender (i.e., assigned birth sex aligns with gender identity) sexual minority adolescents and (b) identify social ecological correlates of last year polyvictimization. The study utilized an online survey advertised through Facebook and community organizations across the United States. Approximately, 40% of participants experienced ten or more different forms of victimization in the last year and were classified as polyvictims. A significantly higher percentage of transgender female (63.4%), transgender male (48.9%), genderqueer assigned male at birth (71.5%) and genderqueer assigned female at birth (49.5%) were polyvictimized in comparison to cisgender sexual minority males (33.0%). Polyvictimization rates for cisgender sexual minority females (35.1%) were not significantly different from male counterparts (33.0%). Several significant risk factors for polyvictimization were identified: genderqueer identity for participants assigned male at birth and higher-levels of posttraumatic stress, family-level microaggressions, and peer rejection. The manuscript concludes with recommendations for future research including the exploration of factors (e.g., lack of community support, gender-role policing) associated with higher polyvictimization rates for genderqueer adolescents. Additionally, professionals (e.g., foster care, homeless shelters, schools) require new tools to assess for polyvictimization among sexual and gender minority adolescents.