Understanding community resilience resources and experiences of i

Utah State University DigitalCommons@USU All Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies 8-2021 Understanding Community Resilience Resources and Experiences of Inequity within the LGBTQ+ Community: Implications for Identity and Mental Health Disparities Joshua G. Parmenter Utah State University Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.edu/etd Part of the Social Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Parmenter, Joshua G., "Understanding Community Resilience Resources and Experiences of Inequity within the LGBTQ+ Community: Implications for Identity and Mental Health Disparities" (2021). All Graduate Theses and Dissertations.edu/etd/8138 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies at DigitalCommons@USU. It has been accepted for inclusion in All Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of DigitalCommons@USU.

For more information, please contact digitalcommons@usu. UNDERSTANDING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE RESOURCES AND EXPERIENCES OF INEQUITY WITHIN THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY: IMPLICATIONS FOR IDENTITY AND MENTAL HEALTH DISPARITIES by Joshua G. Parmenter A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in Psychology Approved: Renee V. Melissa Tehee, Ph.

Major Professor Committee Member Melanie M. Domenech Rodríguez, Ph. Amy Kleiner, Ph. Committee Member Committee Member Steven Camicia, Ph.

Richard Cutler, Ph. Committee Member Interim Vice Provost of Graduate Studies UTAH STATE UNIVERSITY Logan, Utah 2021 ii Copyright © 2021 Joshua G. Parmenter All rights reserved iii ABSTRACT Understanding Community Resilience Resources and Experiences of Inequity Within the LGBTQ+ Community: Implications for Identity and Mental Health Disparities by Joshua G. Parmenter, Doctor of Philosophy Utah State University, 2021 Major Professor: Renee V.

Department: Psychology Many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer, plus (LGBTQ+) individuals develop a connection and a sense of affiliation with the broader LGBTQ+ community. Affiliation with the LGBTQ+ community has been associated with positive mental health outcomes and reduced minority stress and facilitates an affirming sexual and gender identity. However, because of systems of oppression, not all sexual and gender diverse people have equal access to community-level resources within the LGBTQ+ community that help with coping in the face of adversity (i. Research has begun to explore community resilience resources among LGBTQ+ individuals but has not analyzed the co-occurring systems of oppression that may interfere in accessing such resources.

Utilizing a mixed methods design, this collection of three studies seeks to better understand sexual and gender diverse people’s experiences with the broader LGBTQ+ community and how various barriers may interfere with their ability to access community resilience resources. iv The first study explored LGBTQ+ people of color’s experiences of community resilience resources and inequity within the LGBTQ+ community. LGBTQ+ people of color shared various forms of LGBTQ+ community resilience resources, such as shared hardships, feeling seen, and a sense of liberation. LGBTQ+ people of color also described inequity within the LGBTQ+ community, noting their experiences of disenfranchisement from access to community resilience resources (i., internalized oppression, gatekeeping, cultural appropriation, invisibility, alienation, disempowerment).

The second study then took the qualitative themes from the first study to develop and validate a measure of LGBTQ+ community resilience and inequity. Finally, the third study used the newly developed measure to identify latent profiles among 527 sexual and gender diverse people. Findings suggest that some latent profiles may be uniquely associated with mental health and identity outcomes. Implications for research, practice, and social justice are discussed.

(179 pages) v PUBLIC ABSTRACT Understanding Community Resilience Resources and Experiences of Inequity Within the LGBTQ+ Community: Implications for Identity and Mental Health Disparities Joshua G. Parmenter Being a part of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer plus (LGBTQ+) community has been linked with positive well-being. Research has established that the LGBTQ+ community has community-level resources (e., connection, belonging, shared hardships) that sexual and gender diverse people can utilize to cope in the face of discrimination (i. However, due to various forms of discrimination and oppression, those with marginalized identities within the LGBTQ+ community (i., LGBTQ+ people of color, plurisexual, gender diverse) may not have equal access to LGBTQ+ community resilience resources.

This dissertation is composed of three separate studies aimed at understanding sexual and gender diverse people’s experiences with community resilience resources and inequity within the LGBTQ+ community. The first of three studies recruited 14 LGBTQ+ people of color to explore their experiences within the LGBTQ+ community. Participants from the first study shared positive experiences within the broader LGBTQ+ community, such as shared narratives and hardships, engagement in social justice, and making space within the LGBTQ+ community for the intersections of their LGBTQ+ and ethnoracial identities. However, LGBTQ+ people of color also shared experiences of inequity and discrimination that occurred within the broader LGBTQ+ community, which limited vi access to LGBTQ+ community resilience resources and silenced people of color within the LGBTQ+ community.

The second and third study were conducted using survey data from a larger study of 527 sexual and gender diverse people. A measure was developed and validated for the second study to assess an individuals’ experiences with community resilience resources and inequity within the LGBTQ+ community. The new measure is appropriate for researchers, mental health providers, and LGBTQ+ community organizations to use to examine experiences within the LGBTQ+ community. The third study used the newly validated measure from study two to examine patterns of advantage and disadvantage within the LGBTQ+ community.

Results yielded four profiles of experiences (i., marginalized, neutral, disengaged, and embedded) among LGBTQ+ participants and that profiles predicted mental health outcomes. It is our hope that findings from the dissertation study will be used for advocacy and decreasing inequity within the LGBTQ+ community. vii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS A salient message from a previous mentor comes to mind when reflecting on my academic journey, “Never forget who you are and where you came from.” Students, friends, and even internship site interviews have asked me what I attribute to my training and successes in graduate school. My answer: my people and my mentors.

Mentorship, chosen family, and connection have always been a compass throughout my life. They have served as vessels of hope and encouragement during trying times, as a lighthouse whenever I am lost, and as cheerleaders to celebrate the little victories. It is only fitting to thank the people who have helped me along my journey. Many people know how much my family means to me.

Dina Eischen and Kerry Parmenter—I am truly honored and privileged to have parents who show unconditional love and pride in their children. Graduate school has been no leisurely stroll through the park—it has been a marathon. Thank you to Delaney, Kim, Tina, Poppy, and Grandma Glenda Parmenter for their support throughout this entire process. Thank you to the new extensions of my family: George Eischen, Ryan Baisden, and Christine Wigham Jansson.

My family has been the beacon of hope that aids me in persisting through the hard times. I truly do not know where I would be without my family. I must acknowledge the wonderful people in my life whom I have come to claim as my chosen family. To “my person,” Sydnie Ashman— you have been by my side and loved me through the good and the, well, “not so good.” I frequently talk about you to colleagues, family, and friends about your authenticity and the contagiousness of your wonderful spirit.

It truly is a privilege to have you in my life. Thank you for the late-night viii phone calls, the yearly trips to see each other, and the never-ending laughs and memories. I would also like to thank my Logan family: Tammie, Jen, Brandon, and Abby. All of you have been tremendous sources of joy and support in my life throughout graduate school.

Thank you to my fellow lab-mates and graduate school companions whom I have had the opportunity to share this journey with. Thank you to Elizabeth Wong and Diana Perez for your assistance on qualitative analyses and for your insightful collaborations. You have all changed my life for the better. Katherine “Mama K” Crowell: My first mentor and first academic mother.

You jokingly told me that “we all turn into our academic mothers one day.” I feel this deeply. You demonstrated a passion, innate curiosity, resilience, and vulnerability that I have adopted throughout my doctoral journey. Even though you are across the country, you continue to be a mentor, role model, academic mother, and dear friend. I am honored to have you as a member of my academic family and look forward to our journey together.

To my committee members, Drs. Melissa Tehee, Melanie Domenech Rodríguez, Amy Kleiner, and Steven Camicia: Thank you! Your continued support with this project and my personal-professional development is deeply appreciated. I cannot express my gratitude enough to be able to have mentors such as you, to whom I often turn when in need of guidance. Thank you to the Utah State University Psychology Department and the Psi Chi Mamie Phipps Clark Diversity Research Grant for funding my dissertation project.

Also, the first part of this project would not have been possible without the cooperation of 14 passionate and resilient individuals: Ada, Bryan, Chris, Christian, ix Daisy, Dani, Ethan, Kris, Luna, Mya, Niu, Rumi, Tony, and Trav. I am humbled that you were willing to share your stories of resilience with me. Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Renee Galliher: my second “academic mother,” mentor, and dear friend.

I will be honest, I started graduate school with no understanding of what to expect, severe “imposter syndrome,” and crippling self-doubt that had me question if a first-generation college student, such as myself, was capable of making it through a doctoral program. Now, five years later, I am writing and defending my dissertation and not letting self-doubt interfere in my personal and professional goals. I attribute my success and personal growth to the mentorship you have provided over the years. I have been an overachiever in graduate school; writing one paper after another and sending you novel-length emails.

Despite your busy schedule, you always manage to provide support and mentorship. I often put at the end of my emails to Renee: “Thank you for everything that you do”; however, those emails are only temporary. Let this message of gratitude be a little more permanent: Thank you for everything that you do! As a first-generation student, I am eternally grateful to you for the opportunity to achieve a goal I never thought was possible. Your dedication to your students’ training and personal well-being does not go unnoticed.

Thank you for your unconditional support, guidance, and hilarious conversations during our weekly meetings. You recently told me that “mentorship is a life-long commitment”: I look forward to what the years have in store. Joshua Glenn Parmenter x CONTENTS Page ABSTRACT. iii PUBLIC ABSTRACT.

vii LIST OF TABLES. xii LIST OF FIGURES. xiii CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION. 1 Minority Stress and Intersectionality.

3 Resilience, Community Resilience, and Inequity to LGBTQ+ Community Resilience. 4 Current Study and Research Questions. 9 CHAPTER 2: AN INTERSECTIONAL APPROACH TO UNDERSTANDING LGBTQ+ PEOPLE OF COLOR’S ACCESS TO LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY RESILIENCE. 50 CHAPTER 3: DEVELOPMENT AND INITIAL VALIDATION OF THE LGBTQ+ COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND INEQUITY SCALE.

80 xi Page CHAPTER 4: EXPERIENCES OF COMMUNITY RESILIENCE AND INEQUITY AMONG LGBTQ+ PEOPLE: A PERSON-CENTERED ANALYSIS. 115 CHAPTER 5: GENERAL DISCUSSION. 120 Implications for Research, Practice, Education, and Social Justice Advocacy. 128 Appendix A: Informed Consent for Qualitative Study.

129 Appendix B: Interview Protocol. 131 Appendix C: Member-Checking Document. 133 Appendix D: Informed Consent for Quantitative Studies. 136 Appendix E: Measures and Demographic Survey.

138 Appendix F: LGBTQ+ Community Resilience and Inequity Scale. 147 Appendix G: Permission for Use Letters. 152 xii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 2.1 Participant Demographic Information .1 Demographics of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) Samples .2 Exploratory Factor Analysis Pattern Matric Factor Loadings and Descriptive Statistics for Final LGBTQ+ Community Resilience and Inequities Scale .3 Correlations Between LGBTQ+ Community Resilience and Inequity Scale (CRIS) Subscales, LGBTQ+ Community, Identity, and Mental Health Variables.