Rationale and Design of a Remote Web-Based Daily Diary Study Examining Sexual Minority Stress, Relationship Factors, and Alcohol Use in Same-Sex Female Couples Across the United States: Study Protocol of Project Relate

Abstract

Background The Healthy People 2020 initiative aims to reduce health disparities, including alcohol use, among sexual minority women (SMW; eg, lesbian, bisexual, queer, and pansexual). Compared with heterosexual women, SMW engage in more hazardous drinking and report more alcohol-related problems. Sexual minority stress (ie, the unique experiences associated with stigmatization and marginalization) has been associated with alcohol use among SMW. Among heterosexuals, relationship factors (eg, partner violence and drinking apart vs together) have also been associated with alcohol use. Negative affect has also been identified as a contributor to alcohol use. To date, most studies examining alcohol use among SMW have used cross-sectional or longitudinal designs. Objective Project Relate was designed to increase our understanding of alcohol use among young SMW who are at risk for alcohol problems. The primary objectives of this study are to identify daily factors, as well as potential person-level risk and protective factors, which may contribute to alcohol use in SMW. Secondary objectives include examining other physical and mental concerns in this sample (eg, other substance use, eating, physical activity, and stress). Methods Both partners of a female same-sex couple (aged 18-35 years; n=150 couples) are being enrolled in the study following preliminary screening by a market research firm that specializes in recruiting sexual minority individuals. Web-based surveys are being used to collect information about the primary constructs of interest (daily experiences of alcohol use, sexual minority stress, relationship interactions, and mood) as well as secondary measures of other physical and mental health constructs. Data are collected entirely remotely from women across the United States. Each member of eligible couples completes a baseline survey and then 14 days of daily surveys each morning. Data will be analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. Results To date, 208 women (ie, 104 couples) were successfully screened and enrolled into the study. In total, 164 women have completed the 14-day daily protocol. Compliance with completing the daily diaries has been excellent, with participants on average completing 92% of the daily diaries. Data collection will be completed in fall 2018, with results published as early as 2019 or 2020. Conclusions Project Relate is designed to increase our understanding of between- and within-person processes underlying hazardous drinking in understudied, at-risk SMW. The study includes a remote daily diary methodology to provide insight into variables that may be associated with daily hazardous alcohol use. Before the development of programs that address hazardous alcohol use among young SMW, there is a need for better understanding of individual and dyadic variables that contribute to risk in this population. The unique challenges of recruitin...

Psychometric analysis and validity of the Daily Sexual Minority Stressors Scale among young adult same-sex female couples.

“…Participants were recruited as part of a larger study examining daily sexual minority stressors, relationship factors, and alcohol use (among other health behaviors) in same-sex female couples (Heron et al, 2019). Eligibility criteria for all participants were: Age 18–35, self-identify as a cisgender woman, currently in a relationship with a woman for 3+ months, see partner at least once per week, and able to complete a daily survey each morning.…”

Evaluating study procedure training methods for a remote daily diary study of sexual minority women

“…Each participant could receive up to $77 for her participation ($25 USD for completing the baseline survey, $3 USD for each daily survey, and $10 USD as a bonus for completing at least 80% of the daily surveys). Additional procedural details for the larger study are reported elsewhere (17).…”

“…The written materials corresponded to the information as what was presented in the videos, and both conditions included information similar to what would be presented to participants as part of the screening/ recruitment process and informed consent process of an in-person study that involved EMA methods. The written content that was presented to all participants is available as part of the larger study protocol (17). Based on the written materials, five videos were professionally developed.…”

“…Given the promising findings of previous research using video instructions, the primary aim of the present study was to experimentally examine whether adding videos to more commonly used written recruitment materials would improve study consent, reduce study dropout, and improve survey completion rates for a remote study that collected daily data during a two-week period from sexual minority women living across the U.S. As part of a larger study (17), an experimental design feature was built in such that participants were assigned to either receive written materials only or receive the same written materials plus the information displayed in video format. A secondary aim of the present study was to examine whether time spent reviewing the online video materials was associated with the aforementioned outcomes, as this may indicate if engagement with the videos led to better outcomes.…”

Remote Recruitment and Training Methods as a Way to Increase Diversity in Community Samples for EMA Studies: A Research Note

“…Although same-sex couples were allowed to participate in our studies, the numbers were so small that analyses were limited to mixed-sex couples. Given recent expansion of research to include gender minority samples and recognition of the need to understand the role of alcohol in same-sex IPV (Shorey et al, 2019), a few daily report studies involving substance use and relationship functioning are currently being conducted using gender minority individuals (Shorey et al, 2020) and same-sex couples (Heron et al, 2019;Parrott, 2018Parrott, -2021. However, to date, no current or published studies have compared mixed-sex to same-sex couples with respect to daily relationship functioning or the role of alcohol in couple conflict and aggression.…”