A Three Article Study Examining Sexual and Gender Minority Competency of Health Service Providers

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals endure a number of health disparities, such as higher rates of violence, mental health conditions, and more medical conditions. These disparities are exacerbated by the fact that SGM individuals face issues such as accessing health insurance, social support programs, and health service providers who are knowledgeable about SGM health issues. Certain health service provider governing organizations (i.e., the American Psychological Association, the Association of American Medical Colleges, and the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association) have recognized the need for guidelines regarding SGM care in recent years and published guidelines for health service providers regarding culturally competent care of SGM clients. SGM individuals represent a highly stigmatized and understudied population in regard to health service education and training. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to understand health service providers SGM competency by developing a measure (the HCAF-SGM), examining theories (Dual Process Model of Prejudice and SIT) that may be related to SGM competency, and identifying correlates of SGM competency. Study one of the dissertation was a systematic review that examined rates and correlates of health service providers competency working with SGM individuals. Study two of the dissertation was a review of a psycho-educational training with military sexual assault victim advocates (SAVAs) serving SGM victims. Study three of the dissertation developed and assessed a measure of health service provider SGM competency

Sexual orientation and the integrated motivational-volitional model of suicidal behavior : results from a cross-sectional study of young adults in the United Kingdom

Sexual orientation minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and other; LGBQ+) persons represent a vulnerable population with respect to suicide-related behavior. An emerging theory of suicide, the Integrated Motivational-Volitional Model of Suicide (IMV; O’Connor, 2011; O’Connor & Kirtley, 2018), is utilized in the present study to examine sexual orientation, as well as a number of other IMV-defined pre-motivational factors (i.e., demographics, psychological distress and personality), as they impact the IMV motivational factors of defeat, entrapment, and suicidal ideation/intent. The present investigation featured a cross-sectional online survey of young adults (ages 18 to 34; n = 418; 27% identified as LGBTQ+) across the United Kingdom. The key findings included: (1) high rates of 12-month suicidal ideation prevalence (54.5%) and willingness to enact a future suicide attempt (60.8%); (2) bisexual and other (e.g., pansexual)-identifying sexual minority persons reported higher levels of IMV-related outcomes (e.g., internal entrapment, defeat); (3) sexual orientation accounted for significant variance in predicting motivational constructs controlling for a number of other pre-motivational factors; (4) other sexual minority status, compared to heterosexual identity, predicted all motivational outcomes, and; (5) extraversion, agreeableness, and emotional stability emerged as pre-motivational protective factors for varying motivational outcomes. Findings are discussed with respect to the suicide and sexual minority theories, as well as tailored suicide prevention efforts and future research

Preferences in Information Processing, Marginalized Identity, and Non-Monogamy: Understanding Factors in Suicide-Related Behavior among Members of the Alternative Sexuality Community

Suicide-related behavior (SRB) is a mental health disparity experienced by the alternative sexuality community. We assessed mental health, relationship orientation, marginalized identities (i.e., sexual orientation minority, gender minority, racial minority, ethnic minority, and lower education), and preferences in information processing (PIP) as factors differentiating lifetime SRB groups. An online cross-sectional survey study was conducted in 2018. Members of the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF; n = 334) took part. Bivariate analyses identified the following SRB risk factors: female and transgender/gender non-binary identity, sexual orientation minority identity, lower education, suicide attempt/death exposure, Need for Affect (NFA) Avoidance, depression, and anxiety. Monogamous relationship orientation was a protective factor. Multi-nomial regression revealed the following: (1) monogamous relationship orientation was a protective factor for suicidal ideation and attempt; (2) lower education was a risk factor for suicide attempt; (3) anxiety was a risk factor for suicide attempt; and (4) depression was a risk factor for suicidal ideation. A two-way interaction showed that elevated NFA Approach buffered the negative impacts of depression. Relationship orientation, several marginalized identities (i.e., based on gender, sexual orientation, and educational level), and PIP all contributed uniquely to SRB. Further study is necessary to understand the role of relationship orientation with suicide. Health education and suicide prevention efforts with NCSF should be tailored to account for marginalized identity, mental health, and NFA factors

sj-docx-1-jiv-10.1177_08862605221127196 – Supplemental material for A Psychometric Investigation of the Hate-Motivated Behavior Checklist

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-jiv-10.1177_08862605221127196 for A Psychometric Investigation of the Hate-Motivated Behavior Checklist by Robert J. Cramer, Samantha C. Cacace, Mariah Sorby, Madison E. Adrian, Andre Kehn and Corrine N. Wilsey in Journal of Interpersonal Violence</p