Advancing help-seeking and recovery measures for sexual minority survivors of interpersonal violence

Temple Univ Of The Commonwealth, Philadelphia PA

Investigators

Abstract

Abstract Research has documented that interpersonal violence (IV; e.g. intimate partner violence, sexual assault, child abuse) disproportionately impacts sexual minority (SM) populations, with unaddressed victimization experiences representing a key driver of SM health disparities (e.g., suicidality, substance use, depression, HIV transmission, morbidity, mortality). To advance from identifying these disparities to intervening, research that evaluates SM barriers to seeking help and IV recovery needs, as well as the social, cultural, and structural influences of these processes at multiple levels is required. There is a scarcity of tools to measure IV-specific concepts validated in SM populations, with no current instruments to measure the help-seeking barriers SM survivors face and their recovery progress. Thus, there is a critical need to develop these instruments to inform acceptable and effective interventions to increase the access, engagement, care linkages, and effectiveness of survivor support infrastructure for SM populations. Through an exploratory sequential mixed-methods approach, we aim to: 1) develop an SM Barriers to Help-seeking and an SM IV Healing Scale and 2) psychometrically evaluate these instruments. Study aims will draw on four sequentially collected sources of data: a) an existing dataset of SM ethnographic narrative interviews (N=40), b) data gathered from our community advisory board (N=10), c) cognitive interviews with SM survivors (N=20), and d) a national online survey (N=1000), with adequate representation of sexual minority men and women. A community advisory board with SM IV survivors, clinicians, scientific experts, and community stakeholders will be engaged throughout the research process ensuring potential impact and sustainability. This study is innovative because it uses rich community-engaged approaches to articulate help-seeking and recovery experiences at multiple levels, incorporating SM survivors at all stages of the process, with an emphasis on recovery rather than deficit. In turn, the instruments created are expected to open new horizons in SM survivorship research and practice, specifically the ability to illuminate SM recovery needs and prioritize interventions to mitigate drivers of SM health disparities. Successful completion of this project is expected to have a positive impact by enhancing our ability to: 1) evaluate future help-seeking and recovery intervention effectiveness, 2) enhance help-seeking and recovery exploration in SM populations, and 3) determine how changes influence help-seeking and recovery for SM populations. The study's key deliverables will include two instruments measuring help-seeking barriers and IV recovery needs, validated in SM populations, using rigorous community-engaged qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. These expected outcomes will support NIH priorities for Health Disparities Science by strengthening measurement of help-seeking barriers and recovery in SM survivors, thereby improving understanding on multi-level areas for additional exploration to improve health disparities in these populations.