INQYR @ SSWR 2024

It is widely recognized that access to timely, affirming healthcare for transgender and gender diverse people (TGD) is life-saving and improves mental health and quality of life. TGD populations encounter significant barriers in accessing gender-affirming healthcare (GAH), in particular, gender-affirming hormone therapy (GAHT) and gender-affirming surgery (GAS). Scant research has explored the experiences of TGD people during the COVID-19 pandemic, with even less known about the experiences of racialized TGD people, particularly regarding GAH. This study sought to understand TGD people's experiences, as well as barriers and facilitators, in accessing GAH during the COVID-19 pandemic.

LGBTQ+ populations have higher rates of cancer risk behaviours (e.g., smoking) and specific cancers (e.g., colorectal cancer; Boehmer et al., 2012; Matthews et al., 2018). In healthcare settings, including cancer care LGBTQ+ people face discrimination (Arthur et al, 2021; Haviland et al., 2020). The lack of LGBTQ+ cultural competencies among staff is a barrier to inclusive cancer care (Squires et al., 2022; Ussher et al., 2022). Policy directives promote inclusive cancer care, yet little is known about staff’s LGBTQ+ views, practices, and knowledge.

We examine cancer care staff’s LGBTQ+ competencies and explore the role of past LGBTQ+ training/education and LGBTQ+ social contacts. Research suggests these variables may be influential (Jaffee et al., 2016).

While research on the causes and consequences of homelessness among youth has increased, there is still a dearth of research-informed program and intervention models to serve this population. This is particularly true for populations that are over-represented among youth experiencing homelessness and face added barriers to getting and maintaining stable housing. Young people of color and LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately represented among youth experiencing homelessness. Yet housing programs rarely address the intersectional nature of marginalization and resulting needs. The aim of this presentation is to describe the implementation and evaluation design of a shared housing program model that was developed to serve youth experiencing homelessness ages 18-24 who are LGBTQ+ and/or pregnant/parenting in an urban, mid-sized city located in the mid-Atlantic United States. The intervention is built around guiding philosophies of positive youth development, housing first and restorative justice. The program model is youth-centered - adapting to address the stated needs and interests of the youth being served.

Being misgendered, that is when someone intentionally or unintentionally uses a pronoun or another word (e.g., Ms.) that does not reflect a person’s gender identity (Nordmarken, 2021) is a trans microaggression and maintains transgender, nonbinary, and genderqueer (TNBGQ) students’ oppression (Nadal & Skolnik 2012; Nordmarken, 2022). Minority stress theory suggests that trans discrimination can increase TNBGQ students’ risk for negative mental health outcomes (Hendricks & Testa, 2012). Moreover, trans discrimination can contribute to feelings of isolation and interfere with students’ academic engagement and development (Nicolazzo, 2016; Wilson, 2016).

Growing attention is being given to misgendering, including on campuses (Barthelemy, 2020; Ehlinger et al., 2022; Dolan, 2023; Goldberg, 2018; Whitely, 2022). Though offering important insights, these studies tend to address misgendering as part of larger examinations of trans microaggressions, utilize qualitative methods thus rely on small samples, be limited to specific student groups (e.g., graduate students), and/or overlook outcomes. To understand misgendering more fully, using survey data, we ask: how prevalent is misgendering? What is the association between misgendering and mental health, social belonging, and academic outcomes? Further, to foster students’ resilience to misgendering, we ask: what multi-level factors might buffer students from the negative effects of misgendering?

This roundtable seeks to bring the social work scholarship back to its roots in community engagement, practice, and knowledge. Scholars actively engaged in social work practice have offered unique access and perspective to community experience and knowledge since the birth of social work research. However, with the rise of highly-funded, product and publication-driven research within R1 institutions, scholar-practitioner, those concurrently engaging scholarship and direct practice roles have become more and more limited in leading schools of social work, particularly those highly ranked. As three scholar-practitioners from top-five, R1 social work institutions, we assert that by integrating direct practice experience with social work research, our institutions can reinvigorate and strengthen their foundations of practice-informed scholarship and scholarship-informed practice in social work. A value shift away from communities, and consequential institutional barriers like funding, mentorship, and representation have fueled a continued pervasive disconnect between practice and research over the last few decades.

According to CSWEs 2020 Annual Survey of Social Work Programs (counting both full-time and part-time faculty), 60-65% are white with only 30-35% being faculty of color. Racial disparities among faculty persist despite increasing racial and ethnic diversity of MSW students. Across social work institutions, clinical courses are most commonly taught by adjunct faculty, who are predominantly practitioners of color. Racial and ethnic disparities dictate dynamics of power and inequity. Though adjunct faculty of color carry the majority of teaching obligations and the bulk of clinical expertise, they tend to have the least access to institutional power. Additionally, while 90% of all faculty hold MSW degrees, approximately only 51% of full-time and part-time faculty are licensed to practice. This is especially poignant considering that advanced generalist practice and mental health are among the top three specializations offered in MSW programs. We hope to explore how these inequities contribute to the oppressive and narrow ways our field defines, recognizes, compensates, and utilizes clinical knowledge in training social work researchers. A disconnect remains between the academy's desire for practice-informed research, and the lack of prioritization in training clinical faculty to perform such research. We have noticed that this dichotomy is silencing scholar-practitioners, narrowing the scope of research they contribute to the field.

We will invite a lively, informative discussion involving the following critical questions: 1) How can scholar-practitioners engage their translational skills and community-based scholarship to be empowered within institutional practice-informed research? 2) How are scholar-practitioners experiencing the social work academy, moderated by social factors like race and ethnicity, gender identity, sexuality, disability, and other intersecting identities? 3) How might social work shift scholarship to center relationships between communities and scholar-practitioners more intentionally? 4) How can social work institutions systemically redistribute power among non-practicing researchers and scholar-practitioners to ensure the democratization of knowledge across research labs, communities, and classrooms?

Mental health is a significant public health concern, with approximately 1 in 5 Canadians experiencing a mental illness every year. Mental health care is provided by a diverse range of professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, nurses, and physicians. Understanding access to and preference for specific professions is crucial for developing mental health interventions and policy. There is little understanding of the role of social work within the mental health system, and multi-year Canadian data is available. This research will provide knowledge on who accesses social work for mental health, which will provide social workers with a deepened understanding of their client base.

While project management and leadership are vital for the success of any investigation, few social work researchers receive formal training on managing research projects and research teams. Hence, while many investigators feel confident in undertaking the methodological aspects of their studies, they may feel less prepared to take on managerial-type tasks, such as managing grant budgets, leading and organizing team members effectively, identifying and utilizing needed resources, and pivoting when logistical challenges arise in their work. Researchers often elicit excitement over having their grant successfully funded, though this excitement can quickly fade as they feel increasingly overwhelmed at overseeing the nuts and bolts of project management and can quickly feel overburdened by administrative grant planning and implementation work.

Underdeveloped leadership and management skills can result in a number of negative outcomes for novice and seasoned investigators. For principal investigators, the stress and overwhelmingness of project management can have a negative impact on mental and physical health. This can worsen when coupled with impostor syndrome, which may decrease their willingness to reach out to others for guidance and support, thereby increasing isolation and negative emotional well-being. A lack in leadership and organizational management skills may also have a negative impact on research team members and community partners, such as feeling that they are underutilized or unsure of their roles and responsibilities on projects. In worst case scenarios, this can result in compliance problems that can jeopardize the sustainability of the project, potential for continued funding, and for the success of the project. All of these outcomes can impact the quality of the science that is at the center of the project goals.

Sexual minority adolescents consistently report greater mental health inequities compared to their heterosexual peers. One of the driving explanations for these inequities is the presence of homophobic and heterosexist social world, which often leads to internalized homonegativity. In addition, the literature suggests within-group heterogeneity in health equities and experiences based on membership to other minoritized social identities and experiences. For example, non-affirming cultural environments (religious, racial/ethnic) may exacerbate stressors associated with internalized homonegativity. Despite this knowledge interplay of multiple social identities, current literature is limited in understanding on the relationship between racial/ethnic identification, non-affirming socio-cultural environments, and internalized homonegativity among sexual minority adolescents.

Approximately 8% of the North American heterosexual, cisgender male population experience discordance between their sexual identity and behaviors. Heterosexual men who have sex with men (HMSM) have worsened levels of physical and mental health and engage in more behaviors that elevate their risks for HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted and blood borne infections compared with concordant heterosexual men. Compared to sexual minority men (e.g., gay, bisexual), HMSM may have heightened levels of guilt and shame and poorer coping and communication skills. Awareness and acceptance of the discordance HMSM experience may be necessary for culturally competent social work practice. A knowledge synthesis of the available literature will help social workers become more prepared for engaging with HMSM. Thus, the purpose of this scoping review was to collate the literature related to the identity development, attraction, and behaviours of HMSM.

17% individuals charged with sexual assault under the age of 18 in the United States (US DOJ, 2015). Individual treatment has demonstrated a reduction in recidivism for adolescents who sexually offend (Worling, et al., 2010), however, group therapy has not been a modality well researched for this population. While groups have been demonstrated to reduce recidivism and increase knowledge regarding sexual health (Hagan & Gust-Brey, 2008), social work research has yet to evaluate the mechanisms of group therapy that support behavioral and attitudinal change. This pilot intervention research explores and evaluates the effects of an online group therapy intervention for adolescents who have sexually offended on the indicators of masculinity attitudes, reducing shame, and instilling hope.

Social isolation among youth in the United States is at record high levels, especially amidst the social, political, and mental health ramifications of the COVID-19 pandemic (Almeida et al., 2021; Courtney et al., 2020). These experiences are further compounded for young people who face marginalization, including being unhoused, living with mental health concerns, interacting with disciplinary or carceral systems such as the child welfare or juvenile legal systems, or who hold other (and often intersectional) marginalized identities (e.g., people of color, individuals in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and/or queer [LGBTQ] communities, people with disabilities). As a result of isolation, marginalization, and oppression, many young people face adverse psychological outcomes, including low self-esteem, loneliness, earlier and higher rates of substance use, and overall reductions in mental health and quality of life (Almeida et al., 2021; Marshal et al., 2009; Matthews & Adams, 2009; Mays et al., 2007; Osgood et al., 2010; Sapiro & Ward, 2020).

Case and Hunter (2014) coined the term adaptive responding to refer to the "capacity to circumvent, resist, counteract, and/or mitigate the psychological consequences of oppression"(p. 259). Despite enduring marginalization, oppression, and failure from systems that were meant to support them, young people find ways to adaptively respond, including seeking settings and relationships of safety and comfort. Long-lasting relationships that exist outside of service system contexts, or permanent connections, have been identified as an essential factor associated with wellbeing among youth who are child welfare involved, particularly for those aging out of foster care. This concept has been taken up by the United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) as a key component necessary to support youth in developing the resources and networks required to obtain and sustain housing stability in the long-term. Both populations of youth-and those at the intersection-have often been removed or separated from their natural support systems and experience system-involvement as minimizing their choice and control around accessing supportive relationships and environments that they will need throughout their lives. In addition, peer relationships are often constrained for youth navigating instability and/or system-involvement. Minimal research has been done to explore the ways that these populations of youth find, navigate, and nurture permanent connections in their lives.

Mental health is a significant public health concern within the LGBTQ+ population. Further, the intersectional, compounded impact of racial, sexual, and gender minority stigma, prejudice, and discrimination expose Black LGBTQ+ individuals to increased risk of negative mental health and well-being outcomes. While belongingness to identity-based communities has been positively associated with these outcomes, little research has examined the interactive effects of mental health and well-being relative to community belongingness among this population. Research suggests that the benefits of community belongingness for well-being may depend upon the severity of mental health symptomology (e.g., anxiety and depression). The current study examined whether the association between community belongingness and well-being is moderated by mental health symptomology.

LGBTQ+ youth are at heightened risk for violence and victimization, homelessness, and lack of familial and peer support—contributing to poorer mental and behavioral health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and suicidal ideation, as well as behaviors such as substance misuse and self-harm. Minority Stress Theory (Meyer, 2003) posits that identity-based stressors create the health disparities experienced by marginalized communities. Gender and Sexuality Alliances (GSAs)—formerly called Gay/Straight Alliances—can protect against negative mental and behavioral health outcomes for LGBTQ+ youth. GSAs are clubs for LGBTQ+ students and allies with the goal to create ‘safe spaces’ in school settings. This scoping review searched for and synthesized current literature regarding outcomes GSAs can have for LGBTQ+ youth.

Historically evaluation research has been used to inform decisions around policy, programing, and funding as it is often used to report programmatic findings to federal, state, and foundation funders. However, evaluation research is seldom used as a tool for community-level capacity building and data sharing. The purpose of this proposal is to offer a case study example of how researchers can use evaluation as a strategy to support the development of new partnerships, elevate the experiences of community members, and center community knowledge and power.