The proposed research project will investigate sexual minority health disparities during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. The Healthy People 2010 (NCHS 2000) initiative identifies sexual minorities as a key population of interest regarding health disparities, and an emerging field of research is beginning to document these inequalities. These health disparities include many """"""""key national indicators of well-being"""""""" identified by NICHD (2008). The existing research on sexual minorities, however, has several limitations: 1) it is largely based on clinical and community samples;2) it relies on cross sectional data sets;3) it is often limited to one dichotomous indicator of sexual orientation;4) it often ignores environmental influences, and 5) it has examined only a small number of health related outcomes. Given these limitations, this research is poised to make important contributions to the existing literature as well as public policy but improving upon the existing data, methods, and frameworks utilized. Specifically, this research will utilize nationally representative, longitudinal data and several indicators of same-sex orientation to investigate a wide variety of health outcomes including suicidal ideation, depressive symptoms, self-reported health, self-reported morbidities, and a series of biomarkers designed to measure anthropometric, cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammation functioning. In addition to using these cutting-edge data, we will employ a series of innovative statistical techniques including generalized linear models, propensity score matching, multi-level models, and latent curve models. Critically, this work will employ an interdisciplinary, """"""""ecosocial"""""""" framework that stresses the synergistic impact of individual, environmental, and biological level processes on health. Preliminary analyses conducted by the authors provide compelling evidence that the timing and patterns of sexual minority status identification are important pathways through which health outcomes are shaped. This research will build upon these preliminary findings and directly address the criticisms of previous work from an interdisciplinary framework that incorporates social, psychological, and biological processes.

Public Health Relevance

This proposal specifically addresses a target population and goals identified by the Healthy People 2010 initiative (NCHS 2000) and will document previously unexplored longitudinal trends in sexual minority health from an """"""""ecosocial"""""""" framework. The study of sexual minority status and health provides a unique opportunity to examine disparities among a vulnerable population distributed across all race/ethnic and socioeconomic groups, allowing us to examine health trajectories in a variety of contexts. This research will generate important findings for public health policy by identifying both positive and negative pathways through which the relationship between sexual minority status and health are mediated.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Small Research Grants (R03)
Project #
1R03HD062597-01A1
Application #
7989499
Study Section
Pediatrics Subcommittee (CHHD)
Program Officer
Newcomer, Susan
Project Start
2010-09-03
Project End
2012-07-31
Budget Start
2010-09-03
Budget End
2011-07-31
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$72,365
Indirect Cost
Name
University of Colorado at Boulder
Department
Psychology
Type
Other Domestic Higher Education
DUNS #
007431505
City
Boulder
State
CO
Country
United States
Zip Code
80309
Mollborn, Stefanie; Everett, Bethany (2015) Understanding the Educational Attainment of Sexual Minority Women and Men. Res Soc Stratif Mobil 41:40-55
Everett, Bethany (2015) Sexual orientation identity change and depressive symptoms: a longitudinal analysis. J Health Soc Behav 56:37-58
Everett, Bethany G; Mollborn, Stefanie (2014) Examining Sexual Orientation Disparities in Unmet Medical Needs among Men and Women. Popul Res Policy Rev 33:553-577
Everett, Bethany G; Schnarrs, Phillip W; Rosario, Margaret et al. (2014) Sexual orientation disparities in sexually transmitted infection risk behaviors and risk determinants among sexually active adolescent males: results from a school-based sample. Am J Public Health 104:1107-12
Everett, Bethany G (2014) Changes in neighborhood characteristics and depression among sexual minority young adults. J Am Psychiatr Nurses Assoc 20:42-52
Everett, Bethany G; Rosario, Margaret; McLaughlin, Katie A et al. (2014) Sexual orientation and gender differences in markers of inflammation and immune functioning. Ann Behav Med 47:57-70
Everett, Bethany; Mollborn, Stefanie (2013) Differences in hypertension by sexual orientation among U.S. young adults. J Community Health 38:588-96
Austin, S Bryn; Nelson, Lauren A; Birkett, Michelle A et al. (2013) Eating disorder symptoms and obesity at the intersections of gender, ethnicity, and sexual orientation in US high school students. Am J Public Health 103:e16-22
Everett, Bethany G (2013) Sexual orientation disparities in sexually transmitted infections: examining the intersection between sexual identity and sexual behavior. Arch Sex Behav 42:225-36
Mojola, Sanyu A; Everett, Bethany (2012) STD and HIV risk factors among U.S. young adults: variations by gender, race, ethnicity and sexual orientation. Perspect Sex Reprod Health 44:125-33