Participant diversity in ACER: 2010-2022.

BACKGROUND: Increasing diversity has become a priority for all fields working with human subjects due to historic exclusions and misrepresentations of participants with minoritized identities. To create a more representative and generalizable science of alcohol use, the Research Society on Alcohol (RSA) and its official journal, Alcohol: Clinical and Experimental Research (ACER), have increasingly incorporated diversity and inclusion into their posted values and programming. METHODS: We analyzed the content of articles published in ACER from 2010 through 2022 (6 years before and after the formation of RSA's Diversity Committee) to assess the reporting of participants' demographic information and whether there has been increased inclusion of diverse samples in alcohol research over time. Our team screened 3292 abstracts for data extraction; studies were included if they were primary analyses of data collected from human subjects (n = 1043). RESULTS: Reporting of all demographic variables increased over time, with significant increases in reporting for race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status (SES), income, and educational attainment. Demographic variables were also increasingly used in analyses. However, representation of research outside the United States diminished significantly over time. CONCLUSIONS: We provide recommended journal article reporting standards for ACER to continue the positive progress in reporting demographics in alcohol research and facilitate meta-analyses examining demographic modulation and the impact of social determinants of health.

Participant diversity in Psychophysiology.

The Society for Psychophysiological Research and accompanying journal, Psychophysiology, have increasingly incorporated diversity and inclusion into their posted values, conference programming, and science. Much of this focus on equity, diversity, and inclusion work has occurred since 2010. The current review content analyzed the articles published in Psychophysiology from 2010 through 2020 to determine if SPR and Psychophysiology's commitment to diversity and inclusion has resulted in changes to reporting and analysis of participant demographics. Demographic reporting practices were compared to APA reporting standards and the use of demographic variables assessed according to the guidance proffered in the introduction to Psychophysiology's 2016 Special Issue on Diversity and Representation. Results of the content analysis indicated near perfect reporting of biological sex and frequent reporting of average age. Age range and educational attainment were reported in over half of studies, while race or ethnicity were reported in only 17%. Socioeconomic status, income, gender identity, and sexual orientation were almost never reported. In over 60% of studies at least one major demographic variable was reported, but was not used in preliminary, main, or supplementary analyses as a covariate, moderator, or otherwise. SPR and Psychophysiology should continue advocating for increased reporting of major demographic variables and ethical analysis of demographic modulation of various psychophysiological mechanisms. We provide a preliminary template of reporting standards and call for the inclusion of more open science practices by psychophysiologists.