Panel Discussion 29 - Promoting Rigor and Inclusivity in Sexual and Gender Minority Health Research: Lessons Learned from Community-engaged and Methodologically Diverse Research Practices

Further consideration of underutilized research methodologies and the applicability of existing measures may prove helpful in understanding sexual and gender minority (SGM) health disparities. Centering the experience of these diverse groups, particularly non-monosexual (e.g., asexual, bisexual) and gender-expansive (e.g., nonbinary, gender-fluid) identities, is important when considering the generalizability of measures and experimental paradigms. Decisions about how to measure identity and identity-related experiences, like minority stress, across diverse groups often require researchers to make value judgments about the scientific rigor and inferred experience of research participants. Further, experimental paradigms that induce minority stress may require deception and elicit momentary discomfort among research participants, underscoring the importance of ethical considerations and consultation with community members. 

This panel will bring together researchers conducting community-engaged work with SGM communities across diverse settings and methodologies (i.e., experimental, psychometric, and mixed-methods research). Panelists will discuss challenges and recommendations for 1) measurement of identity and identity-related constructs across diverse SGM groups, 2) critical consideration of “gold-standard” measures of psychopathology, 3) measurement of meaningful change in underserved communities, 4) design and use of experimental manipulations of minority stress, and 5) use of psychophysiology to measure minority stress. First, panelists will discuss the competing interests of researchers, community members, and other stakeholders in operationalizing research questions. Then, panelists will discuss ways they have integrated their social justice values with their desire to conduct methodologically rigorous science and the barriers they have experienced doing so. Next, panelists will discuss lessons they have learned integrating community-based research practices, consideration of diverse identities, and underutilized methodologies for understanding minority stress. Finally, panelists will discuss ways that the design of our research studies can directly impact the communities we serve.