The Impact of Minority Stress on Alcohol-Related Sexual Assault among Sexual Minority College Students: An Intersectional, Mixed-Methodological Study

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Project Summary/Abstract The objective of the proposed project is to examine alcohol-related sexual assault in sexual minority (i.e., lesbian, gay, bisexual, or another non-heterosexual sexual orientation [LGB+]) college students to determine (1) whether alcohol use temporally precedes and increases the risk for sexual assault perpetration and victimization, (2) whether sexual assault victimization temporally precedes and increases the risk for alcohol use, (3) whether daily (e.g., sexual orientation discrimination) and distal (e.g., internalized homophobia, LGB+ community connectedness) sexual minority stress and protective factors moderate the alcohol-sexual assault links, and (4) whether findings vary for LGB+ students with other intersecting social identities (i.e., gender identity; ethnic minority). Sexual assault encompasses any forced sexual act, including forced touching or kissing and verbally/physically coerced intercourse, including vaginal, anal, or oral penetration. Rates of sexual assault perpetration and victimization are as high, if not higher, among LGB+ college students relative to their heterosexual peers. The proposed project will investigate the temporal relationships between alcohol use and sexual assault in 352 LGB+ heavy drinking college students. Unfortunately, there is no research on whether sexual minority stress (e.g., internalized homophobia, identity concealment, sexual orientation discrimination) and protective factors (e.g., LGB+-specific social support, LGB+ community connectedness) moderate the temporal relationships between alcohol use and sexual assault among LGB+ populations. Moreover, no research has examined how holding multiple marginalized identities (i.e., gender minority; ethnic minority) intersect to impact the associations between alcohol, minority stress, and sexual assault among LGB+ students. Participants will complete a baseline assessment followed by brief daily surveys each day for 60 consecutive days. The daily assessments will allow for accurate reporting on the temporal relationship between alcohol, minority stress, and sexual assault. A subsample (n = ~75) of participants who experience sexual assault during the daily diary period will complete a follow-up interview to further examine the impact of intersectionality on alcohol, minority stress, and SA associations. An integrated theoretical framework, which considers theoretical models of alcohol-related sexual assault (i.e., alcohol myopia) and sexual minority stress, is utilized to guide this study. This project has the potential to provide crucial information that can be used to inform the development of LGB+ affirming sexual assault prevention and intervention programs.