Doctoral Dissertation Research: Biobehavioral Factors and Health Disparities

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SES-0927370Richard Rogers Bethany EverettUniversity of Colorado BoulderThis dissertation research will investigate health disparities during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Sexual minorities face higher levels of structural and interpersonal discrimination, and a growing body of research is beginning to document their effect on the health of sexual minority populations. Therefore, this research will explore the following questions: (1) What are the links between sexual orientation and health; (2) What role do socio-demographic and social-ecological factors play in moderating these relationships; and (3) Are variations in the timing and pattern of same-sex orientated attraction, behavior, and identification differentially associated with health outcomes? This research will contribute to the literature by employing multiple indicators of sexual orientation available in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Specifically, this research will investigate a wide variety of health-related outcomes, including access to and use of health services; alcohol, tobacco, and drug use; mental health; and a series of biomarkers designed to measure anthropometric, cardiovascular, metabolic, and inflammation functioning, novel for this population. In addition to using these cutting-edge data, I will employ a series of innovative statistical techniques, including latent class trajectory, structural equation, and multilevel modeling. Moreover, this research will contribute to an emerging interdisciplinary bio-behavioral framework within the field of sociology that stresses the synergistic impact of individual, environmental, and biological processes on health.This proposal specifically addresses a target population and goals identified by the Healthy People 2010 initiative (NCHS 2000). It will generate important findings for public health policy makers by documenting previously unexplored longitudinal trends. Moreover, the study provides a unique opportunity to examine health disparities among a vulnerable population distributed across all race/ethnic and socioeconomic groups, and in a variety of contexts. The research will produce results regarding healthy adolescent development, including the impact of discrimination on health, which may be generalizable to other minority populations.