LGBTQ+ College-Related Experiences and Well-being (CREW 2) Study
This project investigates LGBTQ+ college students’ well-being and relationships during the semester compared to on academic breaks, to identify risk and protective factors associated with LGBTQ+ youths’ living environment. LGBTQ+ college students’ experience during academic breaks varies substantially, but we know little about how this variation affects their well-being. Some LGBTQ+ students return to live with parents, which may lead to restrictions on identity expression. Some LGBTQ+ students experience housing insecurity and may spend breaks on sparsely populated campuses or with friends or extended family members. Thus, during breaks LGBTQ+ youths’ well-being may suffer due to decreased social connection and freedom of identity expression that active campus life provides. In addition, how LGBTQ+ students’ well-being changes from semester to academic breaks, and how those changes vary by living arrangement, is unlikely uniform, but instead moderated by a range of risk and protective factors. We consider moderators at different levels: (1) personal factors, such as identity development and internalized stigma; (2) relational factors, such as relationship quality with and social support from parents, friends, and romantic partners; (3) communal or contextual factors, such as aspects of the university environment and students’ connection to it; and (4) enacted or communicative factors, such as identity disclosure to and communication with close others. Identifying features of campus life and academic breaks that contribute to social connection and well-being for LGBTQ+ youth serves as a valuable first step in designing evidence-based campus initiatives aimed at confronting injustice and promoting social change. Thus, for this project we will recruit a sample of LGBTQ+ college students who live on campus in Fall 2021 and will follow them longitudinally into Spring 2022.
LGBTQ+ COVID-related RElationships and Well-being (CREW) Study
Compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers, LGBTQ+ youth are at increased risk of poor well-being outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, and substance use. For these youth, leaving their parents’ home to attend college may result in improved well-being. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ+ college students who had to leave campus living arrangements to return to their family of origin may experience increased risks to their well-being if they are not out to their families, or if their families reject their sexual or gender identity. The extent to which the quality of their relationship with their parents affects their well-being likely varies by individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors. In Spring 2020, we collected data on the well-being and family, peer, and romantic relationships of over 400 LGBTQ+ college students from around the country. Dr. Lefkowitz and her students are currently examining what social factors are associated with LGBTQ+ college students’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, what factors moderate these associations, and the role of social distancing practices in these students’ well-being using both quantitative and open-ended responses.
The University Life Study
This study examines the co-occurrence of alcohol use and sexual behavior among more than 700 university students, as well as shared and distinct correlates (e.g., motivations, daily activities, college experiences). The study was funded by NIAAA (Jennifer Maggs: PI; Eva Lefkowitz, Co-Investigator). The ULS employed a
measurement burst design to examine developmental changes and situational fluctuations in alcohol use and sexual behavior across 7 semesters of college.
Each semester, students completed longer developmental web-based surveys and 14 consecutive daily web-surveys. We used stratified random sampling to oversample students from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. Dr. Lefkowitz and her students are using these data to ask questions about short-term (day-to-day) and longer term (across semesters) changes in sexual health, as well as predictors and outcomes of sexual health.
measurement burst design to examine developmental changes and situational fluctuations in alcohol use and sexual behavior across 7 semesters of college.
Each semester, students completed longer developmental web-based surveys and 14 consecutive daily web-surveys. We used stratified random sampling to oversample students from racial/ethnic minority backgrounds. Dr. Lefkowitz and her students are using these data to ask questions about short-term (day-to-day) and longer term (across semesters) changes in sexual health, as well as predictors and outcomes of sexual health.
The College Interactions & Experiences Study
This study examines gender role development and sexual behavior using a 3-year longitudinal design from first to fourth year of college and was funded by NICHD (Eva Lefkowitz, PI). We collected questionnaire, observational, and qualitative data from 434 African American, Latino American, and European American students during their 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 7th semesters at university. The surveys assessed sexual behaviors and attitudes that may make individuals more likely to have negative health outcomes, including gender role development (cognitions, traits, and behaviors); and personal and individual characteristics (e.g., ethnic identity, romantic relationship status and characteristics, religious beliefs). Currently, Dr. Lefkowitz and her students are examining the roles of body image, religiosity, peer communication, and parent-child communication in sexual behaviors and outcomes.
