Growing Up Gay in Indiana

Background and Study Rationale (written prior to study)

Public Health and Social Work professionals have touted the importance of organized youth groups targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in reducing social, psychological, and physical disparities among this population. Several research and evaluation studies have been conducted with active youth members of groups such as Gay-Straight Alliances (GSAs) often found in high schools (Mayberry, 2006), not-for-profit organizations (Herdt & Boxer, 1993; Savin-Williams, 1990, 2005), and collegiate organizations (Friedman-Nimz et al., 2006). These studies have supported the need for such groups; documented effects include reduced risk of suicide, reduced incidence of HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs), and increased psychosocial well-being. To date, no known studies have attempted to ascertain the long-term effects of LGBT youth support organizations.

The current study looks to investigate the physical and mental status of LGBT persons who grew up in Indiana. The driving research question is: What longer-term impact(s) did involvement in a LGBT youth service organization have on the youth who took advantage of their services and programming in Indiana? The short-term goal of this project is to provide LGBT youth support organizations with empirical evidence on the longer-term impacts of their services. These organizations can use this information to acquire funding and/or community support. The long-term goal is to create a nationally focused survey to benefit similar organizations across the country as well as provide additional empirical evidence as to types of programming to be developed and/or refined for future generations.

Research Questions

What is the current mental, physical, and sexual health of self-identified lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgendered people who have participated in an organized youth group targeting LGBT individuals?

How do LGBT persons who participated in organized youth groups compare to their peers who did not engage with such organizations?

What are the correlates of health across various levels of participation in an organized LGBT youth group?

Proposed Participants

Participants will include self-identified LGBT individuals who are over the age of 18 and grew up in Indiana (defined as spending more than half of their teenage years [13-18] living in Indiana). The participants will comprise two primary groups: those involved in a LGBT youth support organization such as those mentioned above and those not involved in any such organizations. Convenience sampling and snowball sampling will be employed to recruit participants. These methods of recruitment are proven techniques for accessing a hidden population such as LGBT individuals (Sullivan & Losberg, 2003). Flyers and local community newspaper ads will drive the initial phase of convenience recruitment followed by an end of survey snowball technique to recruit additional participants. Ads will also be posted on Internet bulletin boards such as www.craigslist.org.

Study Design and Research Methods

The study will utilize a structured Internet based survey. This method is better suited to the study aims and target population than pencil and paper methods because participants cannot be assumed to be in a centrally located, easily accessible area – that is, many LGBT persons who grew up in Indiana may have since moved out of state. Additionally, an Internet based survey allows for greater anonymity for participants. This is important as not all LGBT persons are in situations where disclosure of their sexual orientation or gender identity is prudent. Participants will have the opportunity to register to win one of 10 $50 gift cards to a national retailer as an incentive for participating.

Study Measures

Constructs for the survey were arrived at through a community based participatory approach. The efficacy of community–based participatory research methods has been proven to be well suited to the topic and population of this study (Reece & Dodge, 2004). The original instrument used by Dr. Eric Wright in his assessment of the Indiana Youth Group (IYG – a LGBT youth group in Indianapolis) was utilized as a baseline. Over several meetings, Christopher Fisher, Dr. Wright, Dr. Reece, and staff from IYG developed the final instrument based on the research questions above and specific information interests for grant-writing purposes for IYG. Constructs are described here.

Demographics Variables include age, county in Indiana where participant grew up, education, relationship status (e.g. partnered), family status, gender, sexual orientation, employment & income, religion, and family background and history.

Identity Development will be assessed with measures from Wright et al. (1998). Measures include age of “coming out” as LGBT, degree of “outness,” perceived importance of being out, perceived benefits and barriers to being LGBT, and community participation.

Health Status

Mental Health will be assessed through self-esteem measures specific to LGBT youth (replicated from Wright et al., 1998). Additionally, the Trans Adaption and Integration Measure (TG AIM) (Sjoberg, Walch, & Stanny, 2006) will be administered to self-identified transgender participants. The personal history will assess mental illness diagnosis and treatment. Finally, a scale measuring experiences of discrimination will be used to ascertain correlates to other mental health measures.

Physical Health will be assessed through measures of eating, sleeping, and exercise habits, measures of smoking patterns, substance use history, access of medical services, and driving safety habits. Violence resulting from perceived discrimination as it specifically relates to being LGBT will also be measured.

Sexual Health will be measured via STI history, HIV/AIDS knowledge, Persons With AIDS (PWA) contact, efficacy for STI prevention (self and partner/friends), sexual behaviors, and Kinsey scale ratings of past experiences, feelings, and relationships.

LGBT Group Participation will be assessed for those participants indicating they were involved in a LGBT youth group. Measures will include length of participation, activities and/or services accessed, level of perceived satisfaction with various services, and perceived benefits of the group attended. If participants were involved in more than one organization, they will be asked to respond to all the above for a second organization to be randomly selected.

Data Analysis

After data collection and cleaning, analysis will be conducted using the statistical package SPSS 15.0. Initial frequencies and chi-square analysis will be used to identify basic demographics and correlational relationships among the constructs mentioned above. ANOVA’s will be used to determine if variances exist across several constructs between participants who have or have not participated in an LGBT youth-oriented organization. Finally, linear regression analysis will be employed where appropriate to develop predictive models of long-term outcomes based on participation/non-participation in LGBT youth groups.

Dissemination

Data collection should be completed by March 2008. The first priority will be to analyze data and prepare a community report for IYG and other interested LGBT youth service organizations. At least two papers from this study will be co-authored by Dr. Wright, Dr. Reece, and Mr. Fisher. Target dates for manuscript submission are August and October of 2008. Additionally, conference presentations at the 2008 national meeting of the American Public Health Association and the 2008 national meeting of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality will be submitted in the spring of 2008; the 2009 Midwest LGBT Collegiate Conference at Indiana University will also be targeted for presentation.

IRB

The Institutional Review Board at IUPUI reviewed the protocol for this study. The study is a collaboration between Christopher Fisher, Dr. Michael Reece, Dr. Eric Wright, and the Indiana Youth Group (IYG). The study protocol was submitted to the IUPUI IRB because of Dr. Wright’s expertise in LGBT youth organizations and his history with one of the youth organizations represented in the survey, the Indiana Youth Group (IYG).

References

Friedman-Nimz, R., Altman, J., Cain, S., Korn, S., Karger, M. J., Witsch, M. J., et al. (2006). Blending Support and Social Action: The Power of a Gay-Straight Alliance and PrideWorks Conference. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 17(4), 258-264.

Herdt, G., & Boxer, A. (1993). Children of Horizons: how gay and lesbian teens are leading a new way out of the closet. Boston: Beacon Press.

Mayberry, M. (2006). The Story of a Salt Lake City Gay-Straight Alliance: Identity Work and LGBT Youth. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Issues in Education, 4(1), 13-31.

Reece, M., & Dodge, B. (2004). A Study in Sexual Health Applying the Principles of Community-Based Participatory Research. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 33(3), 235.

Savin-Williams, R. C. (1990). Gay and lesbian youth : expressions of identity. New York: Hemisphere Pub. Corp.

Savin-Williams, R. C. (2005). The new gay teenager. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press.

Sjoberg, M., Walch, S., & Stanny, C. (2006). Development and initial psychometric evaluation of the transgender adaption and integration measure (TG AIM), Internation Journal of Transgenderism, 9(2), 35-45.

Sullivan, G., & Losberg, W. (2003). A study of sampling in research in the field of lesbian and gay studies. In W. Meezan & J. I. Martin (Eds.), Research methods with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender populations (pp. 147-162). Binghamton, NY: Harrington Park Press.

Wright, E. R., Gonzalez, C., Werner, J. N., Laughner, S. T., & Wallace, M. (1998). Indiana Youth Access Project: A model for responding to the HIV risk behaviors of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth in the Heartland. Journal of adolescent health, 23(2, Supplement 1), 83-95.