Research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women: A global scoping review

Until the 1980s, the limited research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women (SMW) focused on alcohol and used samples recruited from gay bars, resulting in inflated estimates of hazardous drinking. Over the past several decades the number of AOD studies with SMW has increased dramatically. To characterize this literature, we conducted a scoping review to answer the following questions: What do we know, and what are the gaps in research about AOD use among SMW? We searched multiple electronic databases (Medline [PubMed], CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed research articles about AOD use among adult SMW published between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2017. After duplicates were removed the search identified 4,204 articles. We reviewed the titles and abstracts and removed articles that did not meet inclusion criteria. We used full-text review of the remaining 229 articles to make a final determination regarding inclusion and we retained 181 articles for review. Although the quantity of AOD research with SMW has grown substantially, the great majority of studies have been conducted in the United States (US) and most focus on hazardous drinking; relatively little research has focused on other drugs. In addition, although there has been marked improvement in theories and methods used in this research, many gaps and limitations remain. Examples are the lack of longitudinal research; reliance on samples that tend to over-represent white, well-educated, and relatively young women; sparse attention to mechanisms underlying the disproportionately high rates of AOD use among SMW; and the absence of intervention research. In general, more high-quality research on SMW\u27s use of AODs is needed, but gaps and limitations are particularly large in non-western countries. Addressing these research gaps and limitations is essential for providing information that can be used to develop more effective prevention and early intervention strategies, as well as for informing policies that can help to reduce risky drinking and drug misuse among SMW

Perceived psychosocial impacts of legalized same-sex marriage: A scoping review of sexual minority adults’ experiences

A growing body of literature provides important insights into the meaning and impact of the right to marry a same-sex partner among sexual minority people. We conducted a scoping review to 1) identify and describe the psychosocial impacts of equal marriage rights among sexual minority adults, and 2) explore sexual minority women (SMW) perceptions of equal marriage rights and whether psychosocial impacts differ by sex. Using Arksey and O’Malley’s framework we reviewed peer-reviewed English-language publications from 2000 through 2019. We searched six databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Web of Science, JSTOR, and Sociological Abstracts) to identify English language, peer-reviewed journal articles reporting findings from empirical studies with an explicit focus on the experiences and perceived impact of equal marriage rights among sexual minority adults. We found 59 studies that met our inclusion criteria. Studies identified positive psychosocial impacts of same-sex marriage (e.g., increased social acceptance, reduced stigma) across individual, interpersonal (dyad, family), community (sexual minority), and broader societal levels. Studies also found that, despite equal marriage rights, sexual minority stigma persists across these levels. Only a few studies examined differences by sex, and findings were mixed. Research to date has several limitations; for example, it disproportionately represents samples from the U.S. and White populations, and rarely examines differences by sexual or gender identity or other demographic characteristics. There is a need for additional research on the impact of equal marriage rights and same-sex marriage on the health and well-being of diverse sexual minorities across the globe

Psychological and Neighborhood Factors Associated with Preventive Care Use by Women in Chicago

Given that half of all deaths in the United States are caused by modifiable health behaviors, improving use of preventive care could save more than 2 million life years annually. Women are more likely than men to forego care -including preventive care, with 60% of women foregoing care compared to 50% of men. In 2014, only 30% of women in the US were up to date on preventive screenings; this rate was even lower among women living in Illinois (21.8%). Understanding which factors influence women’s preventive care use has the potential to improve women’s health. Much of the literature on barriers to preventive care has focused on demographic and practical barriers to preventive care use. In particular, race/ethnicity, low SES, lower levels of education, not having insurance, and transportation barriers have been identified as significant barriers to preventive care use. However, these factors do not explain all of the variance in preventive care use, and little is known about the psychological and contextual factors that may be barriers to women’s use of preventive care. One potential psychological barrier to preventive care use may be depression. Depression affects 9% of the US population, and women are almost twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression as men. People with depression use more healthcare, are 2.5 times more likely to visit the emergency department, and have double the healthcare costs compared to non-depressed people. Yet, individuals with depression are also significantly less likely to have insurance, more likely to live in poverty, less likely to have a primary care physician, and have higher rates of chronic health conditions. Although people who are depressed are more likely to seek care from their primary care physician than from a mental health professional, actual utilization of preventive care by people with depression is not well-understood. Further, much of the focus on preventive care use has been on the individual, yet both individual processes and the social context in which these individual processes occur affect health behaviors and disparities in health care. One contextual factor that is associated with health and is implicated in health disparities is the neighborhood in which individuals live. Neighborhood factors are strongly associated with health and healthcare use, especially among women. The focus of this dissertation is the largely understudied areas of psychological barriers (depression) and neighborhood factors (support and stressors) that may be associated with women’s preventive care use through a secondary analysis of the Chicago Community Adult Health Study (CCAHS; N = 3,105). The dataset combines biomedical data, interview data, and objective community-level data and is the most comprehensive existing secondary dataset on Chicagoans’ health; women comprise 60% (n = 1,870) of the total sample. Hierarchical logistic regressions were used to test the hypothesis that depression and neighborhood factors (stress and support) are associated with lower adherence to both sex-specific (pap tests, mammograms, and breast exams) and general preventive care (checkups, blood pressure and cholesterol checks) and further that neighborhood factors will moderate the relationship between depression and adherence to preventive care. Results showed that overall, the rates of depression in this sample were high, and varied by race/ethnicity. Almost 25% of the sample had probable depression, which is more than triple the rate of current depression (8.2%) among women in the National Comorbidity Study (NCS). The rates were significantly higher among Latinas and African American women. In unadjusted analyses, women with higher levels of depressive symptoms had significantly lower likelihood of being adherent to sex-specific preventive care (pap smears, mammograms, and breast exams), and this was particularly true among African American women. However, when demographic factors were included in the model, the association between depression and sex-specific preventive care disappeared. Counter to expectations, depressive symptoms were not associated with adherence to general preventive care in analyses with all race/ethnic groups combined. Among Latinas, higher levels of perceived neighborhood support were associated with increased likelihood of adherence to sex-specific preventive care. Among African American women, depression was significantly associated with lower likelihood of adherence to sex-specific care, however this association disappeared when demographic factors were added into the model

Research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women: A global scoping review.

Until the 1980s, the limited research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women (SMW) focused on alcohol and used samples recruited from gay bars, resulting in inflated estimates of hazardous drinking. Over the past several decades the number of AOD studies with SMW has increased dramatically. To characterize this literature, we conducted a scoping review to answer the following questions: What do we know, and what are the gaps in research about AOD use among SMW? We searched multiple electronic databases (Medline [PubMed], CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed research articles about AOD use among adult SMW published between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2017. After duplicates were removed the search identified 4,204 articles. We reviewed the titles and abstracts and removed articles that did not meet inclusion criteria. We used full-text review of the remaining 229 articles to make a final determination regarding inclusion and we retained 181 articles for review. Although the quantity of AOD research with SMW has grown substantially, the great majority of studies have been conducted in the United States (US) and most focus on hazardous drinking; relatively little research has focused on other drugs. In addition, although there has been marked improvement in theories and methods used in this research, many gaps and limitations remain. Examples are the lack of longitudinal research; reliance on samples that tend to over-represent white, well-educated, and relatively young women; sparse attention to mechanisms underlying the disproportionately high rates of AOD use among SMW; and the absence of intervention research. In general, more high-quality research on SMW's use of AODs is needed, but gaps and limitations are particularly large in non-western countries. Addressing these research gaps and limitations is essential for providing information that can be used to develop more effective prevention and early intervention strategies, as well as for informing policies that can help to reduce risky drinking and drug misuse among SMW

Research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women: a global scoping review.

Until the 1980s, the limited research on alcohol and other drug (AOD) use among sexual minority women (SMW) focused on alcohol and used samples recruited from gay bars, resulting in inflated estimates of hazardous drinking. Over the past several decades the number of AOD studies with SMW has increased dramatically. To characterize this literature, we conducted a scoping review to answer the following questions: What do we know, and what are the gaps in research about AOD use among SMW? We searched multiple electronic databases (Medline [PubMed], CINAHL, PsycInfo, and Web of Science) for peer-reviewed research articles about AOD use among adult SMW published between January 1, 2000 and May 31, 2017. After duplicates were removed the search identified 4,204 articles. We reviewed the titles and abstracts and removed articles that did not meet inclusion criteria. We used full-text review of the remaining 229 articles to make a final determination regarding inclusion and we retained 181 articles for review. Although the quantity of AOD research with SMW has grown substantially, the great majority of studies have been conducted in the United States (US) and most focus on hazardous drinking; relatively little research has focused on other drugs. In addition, although there has been marked improvement in theories and methods used in this research, many gaps and limitations remain. Examples are the lack of longitudinal research; reliance on samples that tend to over-represent white, well-educated, and relatively young women; sparse attention to mechanisms underlying the disproportionately high rates of AOD use among SMW; and the absence of intervention research. In general, more high-quality research on SMW’s use of AODs is needed, but gaps and limitations are particularly large in non-western countries. Addressing these research gaps and limitations is essential for providing information that can be used to develop more effective prevention and early intervention strategies, as well as for informing policies that can help to reduce risky drinking and drug misuse among SMW

The impact of marriage equality on sexual minority women’s relationships with their families of origin

Support from family of origin is important to the health and wellbeing of sexual minority women (SMW) and structural stigma may impact that support. The recent extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples in all U.S. states provided an opportunity to examine whether this change in law would impact the relationship of SMW with their families of origin regarding their same-sex relationships, including marriage. Interviews with 20 SMW were conducted to learn about their perceptions of how support from families of origin had been impacted by or changed since the U.S. Supreme Court decision (Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, 2015). Thematic analysis of the narrative responses revealed stories of continued family support; increases in acceptance or support; mixed support/rejection or unclear messages; "don't ask, don't tell" or silence; and continued or increased family rejection. Most participant narratives included more than one theme. Implications for SMW's health and relationships are discussed

The Impact of Marriage Equality on Sexual Minority Women’s Relationships With Their Families of Origin

Support from family of origin is important to the health and wellbeing of sexual minority women (SMW) and structural stigma may impact that support. The recent extension of marriage rights to same-sex couples in all U.S. states provided an opportunity to examine whether this change in law would impact the relationship of SMW with their families of origin regarding their same-sex relationships, including marriage. Interviews with 20 SMW were conducted to learn about their perceptions of how support from families of origin had been impacted by or changed since the U.S. Supreme Court decision (Obergefell v. Hodges, 135 S. Ct. 2584, 2015). Thematic analysis of the narrative responses revealed stories of continued family support; increases in acceptance or support; mixed support/rejection or unclear messages; “don’t ask, don’t tell” or silence; and continued or increased family rejection. Most participant narratives included more than one theme. Implications for SMW's health and relationships are discussed

Health disparities in one of the world’s most progressive countries: a scoping review of mental health and substance use among sexual and gender minority people in the Netherlands

Abstract Background Evidence from many parts of the world shows that sexual and gender minority (SGM) people have poorer health than their cisgender heterosexual counterparts. Minority stressors, particularly stigma and discrimination, have been identified as major contributors to sexual orientation- and gender identity-related health disparities, particularly negative mental health and behavioral health outcomes. To better understand factors that contribute to these disparities, we conducted a scoping review of SGM mental health and substance use research in the Netherlands—a country with a long-standing reputation as a pioneer in SGM equality. Methods Using Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and the PRISMA-ScR protocol, we searched seven databases to identify studies published between 2010 and 2022 that focused on substance use and/or mental health of SGM youth and adults in the Netherlands. Results Although there was some evidence that SGM people in the Netherlands report fewer substance use and mental health concerns than those in less progressive countries, with very few exceptions studies found poorer outcomes among SGM participants than cisgender, heterosexual participants. However, this observation must be considered cautiously given major gaps in the literature. For example, only one study focused exclusively on adult sexual minority women, two focused on older SGM adults, and very little attention was given to nonbinary individuals. Most studies used non-probability samples that were quite homogenous. Many studies, especially those with youth, assessed sexual orientation based on sexual attraction; some studies of adults operationalized SGM status as having a same-sex partner. Importantly, we found no studies that directly assessed associations between structural-level stigma and health outcomes. Studies were mostly focused at the individual level and on health problems; very little attention was given to strengths or resilience. Conclusions Findings of persistent health disparities—despite the relatively long history of SGM supportive policies in the Netherlands—highlight the need for more research and greater attention to population groups that have been underrepresented. Such research would not only provide guidance on strategies to improve the health of SGM people in the Netherlands, but also in other countries that are seeking to reduce health inequities. Addressing SGM health disparities in the Netherlands and elsewhere is complex and requires a multifaceted approach that addresses individual, interpersonal and structural factors

sj-docx-1-tva-10.1177_15248380221122815 – Supplemental material for Intimate Partner Violence Among Sexual Minority Women: A Scoping Review

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tva-10.1177_15248380221122815 for Intimate Partner Violence Among Sexual Minority Women: A Scoping Review by Lauren M. Porsch, Mariah Xu, Cindy B. Veldhuis, Lauren A. Bochicchio, Sarah S. Zollweg and Tonda L. Hughes in Trauma, Violence, & Abuse</p