Sexual Orientation Health Disparities in Chronic Respiratory Disorders.

Smoking, a leading cause of chronic respiratory disorders, is elevated among sexual minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, and bisexual) individuals. Elevations in smoking among sexual minority individuals may contribute to increased rates of chronic respiratory disorders among older sexual minority individuals. Data from 161,741 individuals (3.6% sexual minorities) aged 45 and older from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System were used to examine disparities in chronic respiratory disorders among older sexual minority individuals. Mediation was used to analyze a model with smoking mediating the relationship between sexual minority identity and self-reported chronic respiratory disorder. The results indicated that smoking mediated the relationship between sexual minority identity and self-reported chronic respiratory disorder. Smoking was 1.2 times more common, and the prevalence of chronic respiratory disorders was 1.2 times higher, among sexual minority individuals compared to heterosexual individuals. The present study indicates that smoking disparities observed among sexual minority individuals are linked to increased risk for chronic respiratory disorders, and also indicate that sexual minorities have an excess burden of chronic respiratory disorders.

Perceptions from the public on farmworker contributions to the U.S. economy and attitudes toward farmworkers.

OBJECTIVE: Farmworkers in the United States contribute to the trillion-dollar agriculture industry through their work in agricultural fields, orchards, ranches, dairies, processing, and packing houses. Seventy-three percent of migrant and seasonal farmworkers in the United States are immigrants and face negative attitudes and prejudices. The present study was designed to better understand how farmworkers in the United States are perceived by nonworkers. METHOD: Using a sample of 242 adult participants (Mage = 26.85, SD = 9.78; 53.7% non-Hispanic White) from the United States collected online, data were collected on negative attitudes toward immigrants, perceptions of farmworkers' contribution to the economy, and voting on hypothetical bills related to immigration. RESULTS: Negative attitudes toward immigrants and perception of economic contribution were both significant in estimating voting, as was their interaction. At high levels of negative attitudes toward immigrants, knowledge of the economic contribution of farmworkers buffered the relationship between negative attitudes and support for pro-immigrant voting. Specifically, those who perceived farmworkers to contribute to the economy were more likely to indicate hypothetical pro-immigrant voting. CONCLUSIONS: The present study highlights awareness of the importance of farmworkers to our economy in relation to attitudes toward farmworkers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Grit is associated with decreased mental health help-seeking among student veterans.

Objective: To examine the role of grit as a mediator of the relationship between student-veteran status and not seeking mental health help. Participants: A diverse and nationally representative sample of students (8,203 women, 4,934 men) from 18 U.S. colleges and universities included in the Understanding Student Distress and Academic Success study was used. Method: Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling to assess associations between military service, grit, and help seeking. Results: Military service was positively associated with both facets of grit: consistency of interests (CI) and perseverance of effort (PE). CI, but not PE, mediated the relationship between military service and never having sought mental health help. Conclusions: These results suggest that grit mediates the relationship between military service and not seeking mental health help. Interventions for student-veterans that emphasize the utility of mental health treatment may be useful to diminish the negative influence of grit on help-seeking.

Anabolic Steroid Use and Intimate Partner Violence Among Sexual Minority Men.

This study examined the relationship between intimate partner violence (IPV) and use of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS), in a relationship context, among men who have sex with men (MSM). The sample was collected online via Prolific.co and consisted of 491 MSM. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling. While accounting for the influence of factors known to be linked to IPV (adverse childhood experiences and alcohol use), the use of AAS in a relationship context was uniquely linked to greater perpetration of IPV. AAS use was not uniquely linked to IPV victimization. Findings from this study contribute to literature on IPV among MSM by including a group-specific risk factor (AAS use) in modeling risk for IPV. Limitations, implications, and future directions for research are discussed.

The Role of Minority Stressors in Digital Dating Abuse Victimization and Perpetration among Sexual Minority Men.

Digital dating abuse (DDA), a manifestation of intimate partner violence (IPV), is becoming more relevant. Despite elevated rates of IPV among sexual minority individuals and increased experiences of DDA, research has focused largely on face-to-face forms of IPV (e.g., physical assault) among presumed heterosexual couples. The minority stress theory offers a lens through which we can understand the elevated rates of IPV, including DDA, among sexual minority individuals. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of minority stressors in DDA victimization and perpetration among sexual minority men. A sample of 491 cisgender gay and bisexual men (Mage = 31.35, SDage = 11.60) was recruited online. Consistent with prior research, discrimination was associated positively with internalized homophobia (IHP). Discrimination and IHP were directly linked to DDA victimization and perpetration. Indirect effect from discrimination to DDA victimization and perpetration, mediated by IHP, were significant. This study highlights the relationship between minority stressors and DDA among sexual minority men and indicates the need for more work on DDA among marginalized groups including sexual and gender minorities.

Demographic and behavioral factors associated with kratom use among U.S. college students.

Objective: Kratom use represents a growing risk for public health. The present study examined demographic and behavioral factors linked with kratom use. Participants: Participants were college students in the United States who participated in the 2019-2020 Healthy Minds Study. Methods: Participants completed survey-based assessment of kratom use and related demographic, behavioral, and mental health variables. Results: Kratom use was linked with being White, male or transgender/gender nonconforming, identifying as a sexual minority, use of alcohol or marijuana, and depressive symptoms. Kratom use was not uniquely linked to exercise or anxiety. Conclusions: The results of the present study can be used to inform initial targeting of efforts to reduce kratom use among college students.

Mental health stigma and professional help-seeking behaviors among Asian American and Asian international students.

Objective: To examine the relationship between stigma and mental health help-seeking among Asian American and Asian international college students. Participants: Asian American college students (401 men, 858 women) and Asian international college students (384 men, 428 women). Methods: Data from the 2018-2019 Healthy Minds Study were used to assess perceived stigma, personal stigma, and help-seeking behaviors of college students. Results: Personal stigma mediated the relationship between perceived stigma and professional help-seeking intentions. The relationship between perceived stigma and personal stigma differed by international status, such that the relationship between perceived stigma and personal stigma was stronger for Asian international students. The indirect effect between perceived stigma and professional help-seeking via personal stigma also differed by international status. Conclusions: These results suggest that, consistent with prior work, stigma impacts help-seeking among Asian college students and international student status affects the strength of the key relationship between perceived stigma and personal stigma.

Policy attitudes toward adolescents transitioning gender.

Anti-transgender policies and state legislative initiatives that focus on school bathroom use and hormone use have emerged in recent years. These policies are generally written by and voted on by cisgender people, and as such, it is crucial to understand influences on nonaffirming attitudes toward policies that can impact trans youth. The present study aimed to extend research on transphobic attitudes in general to attitudes toward policies that impact youth undergoing transition. Latent variable covariances and structural equation modeling were used to test the relations between transphobia, genderism, homophobia, need for closure, sexual orientation, social dominance orientation, attitudes toward sexual minorities, beliefs about gender roles, aggression, religious fundamentalism, and contact with sexual and gender minority individuals, as they are related to attitudes toward hormone use and bathroom use for trans youth. Analyses of data from a sample of 248 cisgender adults indicated that genderism and transphobia was associated with attitudes toward gender-affirming hormone use and bathroom use for trans youth; need for closure was associated with gender-affirming attitudes toward bathroom use, but was not associated with hormone use. Sexual orientation was linked to attitudes toward gender-affirming policies, such that nonheterosexual participants had more affirming attitudes toward trans youths' bathroom use, but not hormone use. Implications for future research, advocacy efforts to promote rights for trans youth, and clinical work with trans youth and/or parents/guardians of trans youth are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Variance Composition, Reliability, Validity, and Measurement Invariance of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 in Nonclinical Samples.

The present study extended prior work on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale-20 (TAS-20). The TAS-20 total scale score is commonly used in research in the psychology of men and masculinities and in clinical practice, but most published confirmatory factor analyses (CFA's) do not support this use. Using a sample of 913 men and women, variance composition was assessed, and model-based dimensionality and reliability coefficients were calculated, finding evidence for unidimensionality, which supports the use of the total scale raw score but not that of the subscales, although the model fit was less than desired. Convergent and concurrent evidence was found for the validity of the TAS-20 in men as a unidimensional scale (N = 505) by examining relationships with latent variables of several constructs in the nomological network. An assessment of measurement invariance by gender (men, women) found evidence for metric invariance, indicating that cisgender men and women understand the scale in the same way. It is recommended that the TAS-20 scale developers follow recommended procedures to trim composite measurement scales to improve the psychometric properties (i.e., model fit) of the TAS.

Competition or Community? The Backstage Experience of Men in Bodybuilding Competitions.

Bodybuilding is an increasingly popular sport in the United States. Across fields of psychology, history, sociology, and anthropology, bodybuilding has been examined as being related to, or as manifestly being, a pathology. Extant work on men who are bodybuilders are often built on the assumption that narcissism, self-doubt, and insecurity are the driving forces for men's involvement. The present study sought to examine the experiences of eleven men who have competed in bodybuilding competitions. In contrast to the dominant academic discourse on bodybuilding as an embodiment of toxic masculinity or as a reaction to underlying feelings of inferiority, the study participants described friendly, supportive competition contexts. That such feelings were found backstage, as opposed to in a gym, strengthens the need for a more nuanced distinction between bodybuilding as a culture, and bodybuilding as a sport. This study disrupts dominant narratives of bodybuilding as pathological and contributes to work on the construction of gender and masculinity in sport. The present work suggests a scholarly approach to men's bodybuilding in an open and nuanced manner that does not focus on pathologizing bodybuilding or competition.

The Impact of Mental Health Care Provider Website Transgender and Nonbinary Affirmation on Site User Experience for Transgender/Nonbinary and Cisgender People.

Transgender and gender nonbinary (TGNB) individuals use provider information, such as websites, to ascertain whether providers are affirming of TGNB identities. Yet, providers may be unsure about what level of affirmation is sufficient to be perceived as affirming and may be concerned that cisgender people may have negative reactions to website material that is TGNB affirming. The present study undertook a user experience (UX) investigation of TGNB and cisgender participants' UX of mental health provider websites. Participants (310 cisgender, 224 TGNB) were recruited online. Participants viewed one of five mock provider websites. Results of a multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) indicated that TGNB had more positive evaluations of the three more affirming sites, compared to the less affirming sites, along UX domains related to likelihood of going to that provider, Mental Health Help-Seeking Attitudes, positive emotional UX, and negative emotional UX. Regardless of gender identity, participants rated the three more affirming sites as more welcoming. The results support the use of TGNB affirmation in the UX of TGNB individuals viewing provider websites and further suggest that TGNB affirmation does not detract from the UX of cisgender people. Implications for affirming practice with TGNB populations are reviewed.

Heterosexual Self-Presentation, Identity Management, and Sexual Functioning Among Men Who Have Sex with Men.

Research and clinical work on sexual functioning in men has traditionally focused on the presence or absence of erectile dysfunction (ED) or the inability to maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance. However, for men who have sex with men (MSM), receptive anal intercourse is a common form of sexual expression. Existing work on men's sexual dysfunction does not effectively address receptive anal sex functioning, and there is a need to understand how stressors can impact this common sexual behavior. The goal of the present study was to understand how stressors can impact erective and receptive anal sex functioning among MSM. In the present study, we hypothesized that minority stress (as operationalized by integrating identity management and heterosexual self-presentation) would have an impact on MSM's sexual functioning overall and adapted a previous measure of sexual dysfunction (International Index of Erectile Functioning) to better assess this relationship. Data were collected from 228 men (Mage = 31.74, SD = 9.41); exploratory factor analysis was used to create a new measure of sexual functioning, and regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between heterosexual self-presentation and identity management and sexual functioning. Results demonstrated that higher heterosexual self-presentation was associated with more functional impairment in erectile function and receptive anal sex functioning as well as use of functional enhancement medications or substances. The results of the present study extend extant work on minority stress to sexual functioning of MSM and are relevant to the sexual health concerns of MSM.

Mapping the terrain of Journal of Counseling Psychology: A citation network analysis.

In this study, we conducted a citation network analysis of the Journal of Counseling Psychology (JCP) to elucidate the scope, evolution, and interconnections of JCP publications as reflected in how authors use (i.e., cite) these publications. We used CitNetExplorer to analyze a network of 4,718 JCP publications and 16,959 citation links. The analysis yielded 19 clusters in JCP's citation network. The most dominant facet of the citation network focused on counseling, counseling process, and counseling outcome. The clusters in this facet shifted from an early focus on perceptions of counselors to continuing examinations of what happens in counseling. Another dominant facet comprised clusters on vocational psychology, shifting from an earlier focus on vocational choice and interest, to career counseling and decision making, to vocational and academic development processes and predictors. These major facets converged toward a continuing cluster focused on methodology and analysis along with race, gender, sexuality, and other diversity scholarship. This suggests that diversity-focused publications in JCP often employ and cite methodological and analytic advances. The results also reveal discontinued areas of scholarship in JCP that are ripe for revisiting and rebuilding in new directions (e.g., anger and social justice activism; clinical judgment and artificial intelligence). The results suggest that a promising next step in the evolution of JCP would be for authors to engage with and cite diversity scholarship as central to "general" domains of JCP scholarship. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Parasocial Relationships and Depression Among LGBQ Emerging Adults Living With Their Parents During COVID-19: The Potential for Online Support.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) youth continue to be disproportionately at risk for depression. During COVID-19 social distancing, LGBQ youth who live with family may be more consistently exposed to potentially discriminatory family situations, and may receive reduced community and mental health support. However, the Internet offers opportunities to interact with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) communities by watching videos of, and developing one-way relationships-or parasocial relationships-with, LGBTQ media personalities on platforms such as YouTube. The current study explored how parasocial relationships with LGBTQ YouTubers may moderate the links between family support, loneliness, and depression symptoms among LGBQ emerging adults living with their parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. A sample of 183 LGBQ emerging adults (age 18-23) was recruited from the United States in mid-July 2020. Results of a moderated mediation regression indicated that parasocial relationship strength moderated the links between family support and loneliness, and loneliness and depression symptoms. The associations between family support and loneliness, and between loneliness and depression symptoms, were weakened by high parasocial relationship strength. These findings contribute to understanding parasocial relationships' connections to well-being among marginalized groups during a crisis and highlight the potential of online solutions to emerging mental health disparities being experienced by LGBQ youth disproportionally affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Development and evaluation of a new short form of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI-30).

The Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory (CMNI) has been an important tool in researching masculinity. With the original measure at 94 items (Mahalik et al., 2003), there have been several abbreviated forms developed from 11 to 55 items. However, in confirmatory factor analyses (CFA's) testing 13 common factors, bifactor, hierarchical, and unidimensional models, only 4 models demonstrated adequate fit to the data, and most of these were for the still quite long 46-item version. As a result, there was no psychometrically strong truly short form of the CMNI. In the present study, data from 1561 community and university men were used to develop a short form. First an exploratory factor analysis using a portion of the data was conducted, which resulted in a 10-subscale dimensionality, followed by CFA estimating a common factors model. The results of the CFA were used to create two candidate models for a 30-item short form of the CMNI, based on Classical test theory (CTT) and optimized CTT. The best-fitting candidate model for the CMNI-30 was CTT. Next, the fit of the 29, 46, and 94 item models were compared to the 30-item version, which had the superior fit. Then, measurement invariance between White men and men of color was assessed, choosing this comparison because hegemonic masculinity is theorized to marginalize men of color. Evidence was found for full configural and metric, and partial scalar and residuals invariance. Finally, significant relationships between CMNI-30 scores and indicators of depression and anxiety provides preliminary concurrent evidence for its validity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

Homophobic Bullying and Suicidal Behavior Among US Heterosexual Youth.

Homophobic bullying is pervasive in schools, and has been linked with suicidality among sexual minority youth. In prior studies, heterosexual adolescents have typically served as the reference group to understand disparities facing sexual minority youth. Yet, heterosexual adolescents may also face homophobic bullying. We assessed the associations between homophobic bullying and risk factors for suicide (sadness/hopelessness, considering suicide, planning suicide, and attempting suicide) among youth who identify as heterosexual.

Masculinity threats influence evaluation of hypermasculine advertisements.

The precarious manhood paradigm posits that many men view their gender as a social status that must be earned and maintained, and can be lost. The present study applied the precarious manhood paradigm to a hypermasculine advertisement. A sample of 208 men was collected online. Using a false feedback paradigm, men's masculinity was either threatened, or not threatened. The men then viewed one of two commercials. One commercial was a neutral, control advertisement, and one was a hypermasculine advertisement. We also measured participants' endorsement of masculine norms. Results of a moderated moderation analysis indicated that men in the threat condition were more likely to view the hypermasculine advertisement as being masculinity-enhancing, if they also endorsed the masculine norms of Winning, Heterosexual Self-Presentation, and Power over Women. Results for future research applying precarious manhood to advertising, and implications for clinical work with men, are discussed.

What Is Bad From the Gander Is Bad From the Goose: Development and Validation of the Women's Objectification of Women Scale.

Existing measures of experiences of sexualization and objectification of women focus on behaviors that men do toward women. However, women may also contribute to the objectification of other women. The aim of the present study was to develop the Women's Objectification of Women Scale (WOWS). Through a series of four studies using samples of college women and samples obtained through MTurk, we (a) established that existing measures of objectification focus on behaviors that men perform, (b) gathered qualitative data on women's experiences of objectification by women, (c) developed models of the WOWS using classical test theory methods and item response theory, and (d) subjected the WOWS to confirmatory factor analysis and validity testing. The WOWS is a psychometrically sound, brief assessment of women's experiences of objectification by other women and may help further research on women's interpersonal experiences as they pertain to body image concerns, mental health, and well-being.

An Inhospitable World: Exploring a Model of Objectification Theory With Trans Women.

In this study, we investigated key tenets of objectification theory, a prominent model of body image disturbance, as it relates to trans women's disordered eating and intention to obtain silicone injections-a specific health risk for this population. We also incorporated appearance congruence, or the degree to which an individual personally feels that their gender expression matches their gender identity, into the objectification theory model. Results of a structural equation model using data from a sample of 173 trans women from the United States indicated that the basic objectification theory model held among this sample and that appearance congruence was associated negatively with body surveillance. However, appearance congruence did not have significant direct or indirect links (via body surveillance and body shame) with disordered eating or intention to obtain silicone injections. Thus, disordered eating and intention to obtain silicone injections are potential negative outcomes of the process of objectification among trans women, and appearance congruence does not appear to be uniquely linked to health risks associated with internalization of cultural standards of attractiveness, body surveillance, and body shame. Our findings support the application of the tenets of objectification theory with trans women as they apply to disordered eating and intention to obtain silicone injections and also indicate the need to identify other positive influences on trans women's body image to counteract internalization of cultural standards of attractiveness.