When Sexual Identity and Sexual Behaviors Do Not Align: The Prevalence of Discordance and its Physical and Psychological Health Correlates.

Although scholarly work on the complexity of human sexuality has increasingly been a focus of scholarship, comparatively little research has focused on the phenomenon of mismatch, or discordance, between different aspects of sexuality. This study used secondary data of sexually active adults (N=116,950) from a statewide representative survey which included both a measure of sexual identity (i.e., identifying as "heterosexual", "bisexual", etc.) and a measure of sexual behaviors (i.e., indicating the sex of your sexual partners). Using these data, we examined the prevalence and correlates of sexual identity-behavior discordance (IBD), and also included data from bisexual-identified individuals. In support of our hypotheses, we found that sexual IBD was particularly prevalent among young-adult women. However, we did not find sex differences in the prevalence of IBD overall. Furthermore, individuals who were categorized as IBD also tended to report poorer physical health and psychological functioning than both heterosexual- and gay/lesbian-identified concordant individuals, as well as more negative behaviors typically associated with poor psychological functioning (i.e., binge drinking and suicidal ideation.) Our findings highlight the need for more sensitive instruments and measures assessing sexual orientation in both research and practice, as well as the need for continued study into the area of discordance, and particularly across other dimensions of sexuality (e.g., attraction).

Normative Substance Use Antecedents among Sexual Minorities: A Scoping Review and Synthesis.

Although sexual minority stress remains the dominant perspective for understanding disproportionate substance use among lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) populations, social norms are among the most predictive and commonly targeted substance use antecedents in other high-risk groups. This scoping review seeks to bring clarity to the body of norms-focused alcohol, tobacco, and other drug (ATOD) research conducted with LGBs over the past 20 years, identify intervention implications, and present priority directions for future research. Fifty-two peer-reviewed studies published between June 1999 and June 2019 were identified from searches of PubMed, PsycInfo, and Medline databases using combinations of terms related to: social norms; sexual orientation or sexual minority status; and, the use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. A far greater number of studies focused on actual ATOD norms than perceived ATOD norms or discrepancies between actual or perceived norms, illuminating the need for additional research focused on these levels of analysis. Taken together, this literature suggests that: (1) perceived ATOD norms are reliable predictors of LGBs' ATOD use; (2) actual ATOD use norms are low among LGBs participating in representative, population-based survey studies; and, (3) LGBs over-estimate the ATOD use of peers. Thus, intervention strategies including personalized normative feedback, psychoeducation, and social branding may hold promise in reducing LGBs substance use. However, additional research is needed to increase our understanding of injunctive ATOD norms, identify meaningful LGB reference groups, elucidate environmental influences on ATOD norms, and examine relationships between stigma experiences, perceived norms, and ATOD use.

The power of connections: Psychological sense of community as a predictor of volunteerism.

Two studies explored psychological antecedents of volunteerism, including several dispositional constructs and psychological sense of community (PSOC). In Study 1, 140 retirees completed measures of empathy, self-esteem, generativity, and PSOC, as well as involvement in volunteer organizations and weekly volunteering hours at two points in time. PSOC predicted concurrent and future volunteerism even after controlling for the other predictors. In Study 2 (n = 427), PSOC and measures of environmental concern and connectedness were used to predict current environmental volunteerism and activism. PSOC was the only measure reliably and uniquely related to these behaviors. Across two different domains and operationalizations of PSOC, the findings support the validity and utility of PSOC for understanding general and issue-specific volunteerism. More generally, they highlight social relationships and psychological connections as potential pathways to volunteerism and social action.

Community connectedness, challenges, and resilience among gay Latino immigrants.

To date, relatively little psychological research has focused on the experiences of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) Latino/a immigrants to the United States. This qualitative study used face-to-face semi-structured interviews to explore the unique sources of stress, challenges, as well as opportunities and factors related to resilience among 13 gay Latino first- and second-generation immigrants. Iterative coding of interview transcripts revealed four key themes, each of which is illustrated with verbatim quotes: (1) feelings of connectedness to the LGBT community, (2) feelings of connectedness to the Latino/a community, (3) intersectional challenges and strategies, and (4) well-being, strength, and resilience. As suggested by these themes, gay Latino immigrants have distinct sources of stress and conflict, many of them associated with community memberships, but also draw on unique sources of support and adaptive thoughts and behaviors in facing stressors. Implications for studying risk and resilience factors among stigmatized populations, including LGBT individuals and immigrants, are discussed.

Personality and motivational antecedents of activism and civic engagement.

This article conceptually links theory and research on volunteerism to different forms of political activity, specifically activism and civic engagement. Multiple perspectives and measures of personality as antecedents of volunteerism, activism, and civic engagement are outlined, including individual differences in motivations, interpersonal orientations, and traits. Next, self-report data from 624 people involved in AIDS service organizations (as clients, volunteers, staff, or supporters) are utilized to empirically explore the best personality predictors of AIDS activism and civic engagement. Other-focused rather than self-focused motivation better predicted AIDS activism and civic engagement. The only measure of interpersonal orientation consistently related to these outcomes was communal orientation; as well, only the trait of extraversion was related to both outcomes. In analyses testing the predictive power of constellations of personality measures, other-focused motivation better predicted AIDS activism and civic engagement than the other measures of motivation, interpersonal orientation, and traits. Finally, meditational analyses supported a developmental sequence in which other-focused motivation leads to specific activism, which, in turn, encourages broader civic engagement. The discussion focuses on theoretical implications for understanding the impact of personality on different forms of citizenship behaviors and of the applicability of the Volunteer Process Model for studying political activity and civic engagement.

Prosocial emotions and helping: the moderating role of group membership.

In this article, the authors introduce and test a group-level perspective on the role of empathy and interpersonal attraction in helping. In line with our predictions, Study 1, a longitudinal field study of 166 AIDS volunteers, confirmed that empathy was a stronger predictor of helping when the recipient of assistance was an in-group member than when that person was an out-group member. Also as hypothesized, attraction was a stronger predictor of helping when the recipient was an out-group member than when that person was an in-group member. Study 2 replicated and further extended these results in a laboratory experiment on spontaneous helping of a person with hepatitis. Strengthening the validity of the findings, in both studies the effects of empathy and attraction held up even when the authors statistically controlled for potential alternative predictors of helping. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for helping in intergroup contexts are discussed.