The alarming rates and pervasiveness of suicidal and self‐destructive behaviors (e.g., non‐suicidal self‐injury) among young sexual minorities represent a major public health concern. We set out to examine whether an empirically driven treatment for suicide and self‐harm, dialectical behavior therapy for adolescents (DBT‐A), provides benefits for adolescents who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or questioning (LGBQ). LGBQ adolescents (n = 16) were compared with non‐LGBQ peers (n = 23). Psychological measures were collected before and after participation in a comprehensive DBT‐A program. LGBQ participants demonstrated significant improvements in emotion regulation, depression, borderline symptoms, and coping strategies; changes were comparable to their heterosexual peers.

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The prevalence of experiencing sexual assault is alarmingly high among Transgender and Gender Diverse people (TGD; people whose gender identities and/or expressions are not traditionally associated with their sex assigned at birth) and is associated with various mental health sequalae. Perceived social support has been shown to abate the negative outcomes of sexual assault among cisgender individuals, yet little is known about this association among TGD people, especially which provider of support (i.e., family, friends, or significant others) may be most beneficial. To that end, 191 TGD adults were recruited through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to examine perceived social support as a potential moderator of the association between sexual assault victimization and post-sexual assault trauma symptomology. Results showed an interaction trending toward significance between sexual assault and support from a significant other. Decomposition of this interaction demonstrated that sexual assault was associated with post-assault trauma symptoms when support from a significant other was low (ß = .25, p < .05) but not high (ß = .10, p = .089). The interaction between sexual assault and perceived social support was not significant for perceived support from friends ( p = .133) or family ( p = .954). Findings highlight the need for additional research on perceived social support as a potential buffering mechanism between sexual assault and post-assault symptomology in TGD people.

Although college students who are sexual and gender minorities (SGM) experience higher rates of sexual victimization than their peers who identify as heterosexual and cisgender, there is a paucity in the literature investigating how college campuses can address the needs of SGM college students in violence prevention and response. The present research examines a subset of data from the Healthy Minds Survey (HMS), a national web-based survey administered across two universities from 2016 to 2017. We examined the role of SGM status in the rates of sexual violence, perceptions of their college/university’s institutional response to reports of sexual violence (e.g., taking a report seriously and taking corrective action), and the perceived impact of reporting sexual violence (e.g., students would support the person making a report). Logistic regression analyses revealed higher rates of sexual victimization among sexual minority students (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and transgender and gender diverse (TGD) students (compared to cisgender). In addition, sexual minority (compared to heterosexual), women (compared to men), and TGD (compared to cisgender) students were more likely to perceive their institution would have a poor response to reports of sexual violence. Women and sexual minority students were also likely to believe that students who report sexual violence would suffer academically. These findings highlight the need for continued efforts to enhance sexual assault prevention and response efforts on college campuses, especially for SGM students.

Given the growing body of research seeking to examine adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and intimate partner violence (IPV) among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, Institutional Review Boards must consider whether participating in violence research is emotionally distressing for SGM people. Yet, little research has studied SGM participants’ reactions to participating in research on ACEs, IPV, and minority stress. Thus, the current study examined reactions, including negative emotional reactions, to participating in violence research among SGM young adults. In total, 230 participants who self-identified as a sexual minority (30.1% also identified as a gender minority) in a dating relationship completed a cross-sectional assessment on ACEs, IPV (including identity abuse victimization and perpetration), minority stress (i.e., internalized homo/bi/transphobia), and reactions to research participation. Results indicated that participants identifying as a gender minority had significantly higher negative emotional reactions to study participation compared to cisgender participants, but this increase among gender minority individuals was small. In addition, gender minority participants and those with higher minority stress (i.e., internalized trans/bi/homo-negativity) and ACEs reported significantly higher negative emotional reactions to participation. Furthermore, gender minority participants scored worse on a scale indicating appreciation for contributing to research. Finally, reporting IPV victimization and perpetration was not associated with negative emotional reactions. Findings suggest that questions assessing minority stress and negative childhood experiences may be more emotionally salient or stressful for gender minority participants compared to questions measuring IPV.