Using youth-engaged methods to develop and evaluate a measure for disordered eating behaviors in gender minority youth

Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA

Investigators

Abstract

Stigma, distress with pubertal changes, and societal expectations of beauty, are factors that can affect gender minority (GM) youths’ relationships with their bodies, eating, and exercise, and lead to disparities in eating disorders and other mental health conditions. GM youth are at higher risk of disordered eating behaviors (DEB) and experience unique cognitions that contribute to DEB; however, they have historically been excluded from DEB research. Additionally, extant DEB research with GM youth is limited due to a lack of representation of subpopulations of GM youth participants. These gaps in research limit the field’s ability to provide specific clinical care to a group with unique health disparities associated with DEB. To advance this care, we urgently need to extend DEB research to include GM youth. A novel approach to address these knowledge gaps is to implement community-engaged research methods to develop and evaluate a tailored measure of DEB in GM youth. The proposed health disparities research has three aims: 1. Obtain qualitative data from a sample of GM youth on facilitators of and barriers to research participation to improve recruitment protocols for the remaining aims, 2. Use focus groups and cognitive interviews to develop and refine a measure of DEB in GM youth, 3. Evaluate the psychometric properties of the DEB measure and assess correlations between DEB and GM-specific risk and protective factors. A GM youth advisory board and community consultant with expertise in DEB among GM youth will actively participate in research protocols throughout the 4-year grant proposal. Research activities include designing recruitment matrices, conducting qualitative interviews and analyses, and disseminating results. The data from this innovative study will inform a longitudinal study on changes in DEB throughout: 1) eating disorder treatment in GM youth with DEB and 2) pubertal development in GM youth. Dr. An Pham is an Adolescent Medicine physician with clinical expertise in eating disorders and working with youth with histories of health disparities like GM youth. This K23 Career Development Award will fill gaps in her training and provide her with the necessary mentorship and skills to become an independent investigator on youth-engaged DEB research. Specifically, Dr. Pham will work closely with her mentorship team and community partners to advance her knowledge and skills in qualitative and mixed methods community-engaged research, recruitment and retention of youth populations, and advanced statistical approaches to measure development and evaluation.