Feasibility of Collecting a National Longitudinal Study of Sexual and Gender Minorities.

 

Sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) is an increasingly critical demographic characteristic to measure given the increasing number people who identify as sexual and gender minorities (SGM) and given the distinct demographic and health profiles across SOGI. Currently, 1 out of 6 American adults born between 1997 and 2012 identify as SGM compared to 1 out of 10 born just one generation earlier. This rapid increase in the number of people who identify as SGM has paralleled an equally rapid change in the political landscape and social acceptance of SGM people. However, science has been slow to accumulate data capable documenting diversity of demographic and health profiles related to SOGI. As a result, critical gaps in data remain, most notably—there has yet to be an established and ongoing national probability and longitudinal study of SGM people. The proposed project seeks to evaluate the feasibility of establishing an ongoing national probability longitudinal study of SGM adults in collaboration with Center for Human Resource Research (CHRR). I goal is to use this pilot study to show feasibility in a subsequent NIH R01 application. The CHRR, located at Ohio State,has more than five decades of international experience collecting and managing large scale longitudinal research projects and actively manages a national panel of participants, the American Population Panel (APP), that can be used to implement our project. The panel currently has 40,973 adults with new participants recruited every day. Based on a one question screener distributed by CHRR during the 2021 summer, 3,742 participants indicted interest in participating in a survey about SGM people, of which 2,865 participants will be sampled with attention to diverse characteristics and experiences within SGM population. Three aims will be addressed to provide feasibility data. 1.) We will sample from participants indicating interest in a survey about SGM participants and survey them about their sexual orientation, gender, age, family characteristics, geographic location, SES, mental and physical health, and minority stressors(e.g., internalized homophobia)and protective factors(e.g., social support). 2.) We will compare the demographic characteristics from the APP sample to existing national datasets of SGM people and to the APP sample. 3.) Submit R01 to supplement the sample for underrepresented groups, collect a heterosexual cisgender sample for comparison, and collect longitudinal data. The results from the study will inform financial and technical feasibility to conduct an ongoing longitudinal national study of SGM adults in the United States and will provide preliminary data for an NIH R01 application. The grant application will allow for collecting data from a larger sample, following up with participants and integrating additional studies including qualitative interviews, experience sampling, and connecting the data geographically all with the goal of being able to document the implications of changing social and political landscapes for the health and well-being of SGM people. These data would address an existing gap in data on SGM people and provide a novel data source for researchers interested in study SGM populations at The Ohio State University.