Brief Writing Programs for Sexual Minority Young Adults in Alabama

Summary

Sexual minority (SM; e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, queer) young adults are at elevated risk for eating disorders (EDs). Researchers have used minority stress theory to understand how increased risk is due, in part, to stigma and discrimination from being part of a marginalized group. Despite this glaring inequity, limited programs exist to prevent EDs in SM populations. Critically, many SM young people live in rural regions with high anti-LGBTQ+ stigma and limited access to SM-specific resources. The proposed project will address this gap by adapting and evaluating two brief online interventions to reduce ED risk. N = 120 SM young adults in rural regions of Alabama with high LGBTQ+ stigma and low SM-specific resources will be randomized into one three brief online writing interventions: 1) expressive writing (n = 40), 2) self-affirmation (n = 40), or 3) control (n = 40). Participants will complete assessments pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month post-intervention. Aim 1 will assess intervention feasibility and acceptability. Aim 2 will compare the brief online writing interventions to control in improving body image and ED symptoms. Finally, an exploratory aim will examine posited intervention mechanisms and whether the level of SM stigma and discrimination participants experience pre-intervention impacts intervention efficacy. This research will help support and benefit underserved SM young adults by filling a critical need for brief, scalable interventions that can be delivered online to help reduce ED risk. Data from this project will serve as pilot data for a subsequent R-series grant application from NIH.

Conditions

• Expressive Writing
• Self-Affirmation
• Control

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Expressive Writing

Participants will be asked to write about the biggest body image or eating-related stressor they have experienced as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

BEHAVIORAL

Self-Affirmation

Participants will receive one new vignette per day describing a SM young adult experiencing severe body image stress in Alabama. Participants will be asked to write to this person and provide advice based on their own experience as a SM young adult. Vignettes will be identical across participants; however, they will be matched to participants' sexual identity, gender identity, and race/ethnicity.

BEHAVIORAL

Control

Consistent with prior research participants will write about their routine daily activities since waking up for 20 minutes each day, sans emotional content.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Auburn University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jordan Merriweather · Auburn University

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

SINGLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Max Age

30 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2024-12-31

Primary Completion

2026-12-31

Completion

2026-12-31