Category: LGBQT+
Alison Cerezo, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Barbara
Long Beach, California
Jillian Scheer, Ph.D.
Syracuse University
Syracuse, New York
Nicholas Livingston, Ph.D.
National Center for PTSD
Westwood, Massachusetts
Cindy Veldhuis, Ph.D.
Columbia University
New York, New York
Alison Cerezo, Ph.D.
University of California, Santa Barbara
Long Beach, California
Brian Feinstein, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Associate Professor
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
N. Chicago, Illinois
Sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals are at disproportionate risk of experiencing public health burdens stemming from social determinants of health (e.g., minority stressors, violence exposure) compared to cisgender, heterosexual individuals (Stall et al., 2020). Consistent evidence demonstrates that these social determinants of health are associated with adverse health outcomes, including depression, hazardous drinking, posttraumatic stress disorder, and cardiovascular reactivity (Poteat & Stahlman, 2020). Further, social determinants of health and associated health outcomes vary across social identity and position (Bowleg, 2012). As such, this symposium seeks to address the complexity of differential social determinants of health, stress responses, and mental, behavioral, and physical health outcomes among diverse subgroups of SGM people. This multi-method application represents an exciting and novel path toward ABCT’s mission of “using cognitive and behavioral science to make an impact” specifically related to chronic and acute emergencies and public health burdens among minority populations.
To this end, our symposium features five presentations of innovative, interdisciplinary, and multi-method research on assessing psychosocial stressors and adverse health consequences in diverse SGM populations with implications for prevention and intervention development. First, Dr. Nicholas Livingston will present findings using natural language processing to derive a cohort of veterans with minoritized sexual orientations from nationwide V.A. electronic medical record data to quantify alcohol-attributable death and years of life lost across sexual orientation. Second, Dr. Cindy Veldhuis will present individual- and couple-level stressors (e.g., familial stress, outness/concealment, racism, sexism, cissexism) among women in same-gender relationships using a modified LeBlanc and Frost’s Relationship Timeline Method. Third, Dr. Alison Cerezo will discuss a state-wide initiative to address health disparities among LGBTQ+ women and non-binary Californians across health access demonstration pilot projects, health service provider capacity building projects, community education and outreach projects, and innovative research projects. Fourth, Dr. Brian Feinstein will present patterns of sexual orientation development among young sexual minority women based on whether they met different milestones and associations between patterns of sexual orientation development and outness, victimization, depression, and binge drinking. Finally, Dr. Jillian Scheer will synthesize these collective findings, highlight overarching themes, and discuss future directions, drawing from their foundational research and leading expertise in modeling psychosocial stressors and stress-sensitive health outcomes among SGM populations.
Presenter: Nicholas Livingston, Ph.D. – National Center for PTSD
Co-author: Kristine Lynch, PhD – VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure
Co-author: Elise Gatsby, MPH – VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure
Co-author: Jillian Shipherd, PhD – VA Central Office
Co-author: Scott DuVall, PhD – VA Informatics and Computing Infrastructure
Co-author: Emily Williams, PhD, MPH – Center for innovation for Veteran-Centered and Value-Driven Care
Presenter: Cindy B. Veldhuis, Ph.D. – Columbia University
Presenter: Alison Cerezo, Ph.D. – University of California, Santa Barbara
Presenter: Brian Feinstein, Ph.D. – Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
Co-author: Gregory Swann, M.A. – Northwestern Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing
Co-author: Lisa Godfrey, M.A. – University of Cincinnati
Co-author: Shariell Crosby, PhD – DePaul University
Co-author: Christina Dyar, Ph.D. – The Ohio State University
Co-author: Michael E. Newcomb, Ph.D. – Northwestern University
Co-author: Sarah Whitton, Ph.D. – University of Cincinnati