Category: LGBQT+
Taryn Myers, Ph.D.
Virginia Wesleyan University
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Kimberly Claudat, Ph.D.
University of California, San Diego
San Diego, California
Arielle Pearlman, PhD
Graduate Student
Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Bethesda, Maryland
Jordan Alvarez, PhD
Graduate Student
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
Taryn Myers, Ph.D.
Virginia Wesleyan University
Virginia Beach, Virginia
Tiffany Brown, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Auburn University
Auburn, Alabama
A growing body of research supports that sexual minorities (i.e., individuals who are not exclusively heterosexual in their attractions, sexual behaviors, or identities) and gender minorities (i.e., individuals whose gender identity/expression does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth) – collectively abbreviated as SGM – may be at increased risk for eating pathology and eating disorders. Community-based studies and limited clinical samples show that SGM individuals report elevated eating pathology and rates of clinical eating disorders compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers (Calzo et al., 2017; Diemer et al., 2015; McClain & Peebles, 2016). Several possible explanations of these disparities have been proposed, including minority stress theory (Meyer, 2003), which suggests that SGM individuals may be at increased risk due to stress-induced responses to discrimination and internalized sexual orientation-related stigma. However, additional research is needed to understand the occurrence of eating pathology in SGM populations.
Importantly, to date, no specific treatments have been developed for SGM individuals with eating disorders and little is known about treatment outcomes for SGM patients (Calzo et al., 2017). In addition, little is known about sociocultural risk factors in SGM populations that have been widely studied in non-SGM populations. Thus, additional research on the prevalence, related sociocultural factors, and treatment of eating pathology in SGM individuals will be critical to help develop culturally-sensitive prevention and treatment programs for those suffering from, and at risk for, eating disorders.
Consistent with this year’s convention theme of “Emergency & Disaster Preparedness and Response: Using Cognitive and Behavioral Science to Make an Impact”, this symposium features four studies that explore eating pathology in SGM populations. SGM populations are constantly in a state of disaster preparedness due to their experiences of discrimination and risk of physical or legal attack. Specifically, we present data on:
(1) rates of eating pathology among SGM youth (Pearlman et al.);
(2) the relationships among sociocultural risk (e.g., body image, thin-ideal internalization; Alvarez & Brown) and protective (e.g, feminist beliefs; Myers & Martin) factors
(3) a pilot study examining treatment outcomes in a sample of gender minority patients
(Brown et al.).
Presenter: Arielle Pearlman, PhD – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Co-author: Mikela Murphy, BA – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
Co-author: Josh Gray, PhD – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USUHS)
Co-author: Natasha Schvey, Ph.D. – Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
Presenter: Jordan Alvarez, PhD – Auburn University
Co-author: Tiffany Brown, Ph.D. – Auburn University
Presenter: Taryn A. Myers, Ph.D. – Virginia Wesleyan University
Co-author: Makayla Martin, MA – Samaritan House
Presenter: Tiffany Brown, Ph.D. – Auburn University
Co-author: Patrycja Klimek-Johnson, MS – San Diego State University/University of California, San Diego Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology
Co-author: Alexandra Convertino, MS – SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program
Co-author: Valerie J. Douglas, Ph.D. – San Diego State University
Co-author: John E. Pachankis, Ph.D. – Yale School of Public Health
Co-author: Aaron Blashill, PhD – San Diego State University, SDSU/UC San Diego Joint Doctoral Program