Charting Trajectories of Sexual Identity Development and Mental Health Disparities Among Sexual Minority Youth

项目摘要/摘要 此R01应用程序响应了美国国立卫生研究院关于 性少数群体和性别少数群体的健康(NOT-MD-19-001)。性少数族裔青年(SMY) 面临许多心理健康差距，包括高抑郁和自杀率。性少数群体 认同感发展包括几个关键的里程碑(例如，意识到非异性恋的吸引力， 质疑自己的性取向，自我认同为性少数，并向他人出柜) 通常发生在青春期。在性身份发展过程中出现的挑战性经历 与社会耻辱和压力有关的过程可能会导致这一群体的心理健康问题； 然而，这一领域一直没有得到充分的研究，对此也知之甚少。要解决以下方面的关键差距和限制 在这一领域，本项目旨在：(1)确定性别认同发展的共同模式和异质性 当代SMY中的里程碑；(2)确定性认同发展与 SMY的精神健康问题(即抑郁和自杀)；以及(3)确定应对策略和 SMY用来导航紧张的里程碑体验的资源。为了实现这些目标，我们将招聘 315名SMY的不同样本，他们将完成包括生活史日历在内的一次性面试， 这是一种用于收集回溯生命过程数据的创新方法。生活历史日历将捕捉 关于性别少数认同发展过程和心理健康问题的混合方法数据 青春期。分析将包括描述性统计、潜在轮廓分析、回归建模、 定性内容分析和数据可视化技术。该项目将导致(1)丰富而细致入微的 理解一个复杂而动态的发展过程--性别认同的发展 当代SMY，(2)确定哪些里程碑涉及SMY的痛苦经历，(3) 理解为什么某些里程碑令人痛苦，以及这些事件可能如何与抑郁联系在一起 和自杀，以及(4)SMY用来应对压力的应对策略和资源的框架 认同感发展。

Project Summary/Abstract This R01 application responds to the National Institutes of Health Notice of Special Interest in Research on the Health of Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) Populations (NOT-MD-19-001). Sexual minority youth (SMY) face a number of mental health disparities, including high rates of depression and suicidality. Sexual minority identity development includes several key milestones (e.g., becoming aware of non-heterosexual attractions, questioning one’s sexual orientation, self-identifying as a sexual minority, and coming out to others) that typically occur during adolescence. Challenging experiences that occur during the sexual identity development process related to social stigma and stress likely contribute to mental health problems for this population; however, this area has been understudied and is poorly understood. To address critical gaps and limitations in this area, this project aims to: (1) Identify common patterns and heterogeneity in sexual identity development milestones among contemporary SMY; (2) Determine the extent to which sexual identity development relates to mental health problems (i.e., depression and suicidality) among SMY; and (3) Identify coping strategies and resources used by SMY to navigate stressful milestone experiences. To accomplish these aims, we will recruit a diverse sample of 315 SMY who will complete a one-time interview that will include life history calendars, which is an innovative method used to collect retrospective life-course data. Life history calendars will capture mixed-methods data about the sexual minority identity development process and mental health problems during adolescence. Analyses will include descriptive statistics, latent profile analysis, regression modeling, qualitative content analysis, and data visualization techniques. This project will result in (1) a rich and nuanced understanding of a complex and dynamic developmental process—sexual identity development among contemporary SMY, (2) identification of which milestones involve distressing experiences for SMY, (3) understanding why certain milestones are distressing and how these events may be associated with depression and suicidality, and (4) a framework of coping strategies and resources used by SMY to cope with stress during identity development.