Laurel B. Watson

Experiences of Sexual Objectification, Minority Stress, and Disordered Eating Among Sexual Minority Women:

Our study extended a modified version of objectification theory to a sample of sexual minority women in order to understand their experiences with body image and disordered eating concerns. Specifically, reported experiences of heterosexist discrimination and internalized heterosexism were integrated into the objectification theory framework. A total of 243 U.S. sexual minority women (primarily White and lesbian) participated in our online study. Results of a path analysis and tests of direct and indirect relations elucidated the important role of heterosexist experiences in sexual minority women’s eating disordered behaviors. Moreover, internalized sociocultural standards of beauty and internalized heterosexism were important predictors of sexual minority women’s body image concerns. Overall, our results supported the applicability of tenets of objectification theory to sexual minority women, with some important modifications. Our study demonstrates the importance of attending to stressors that uniquely affect sexual minority women, which arise from a sexist and heterosexist sociocultural context.

Experiences of Objectification and Sexual Risk Behaviors Among Sexual Minority Men

Through an objectification theory lens, this study sought to explore the relationships between various forms of objectification (i.e., sexual objectification and objectification based on masculine appearance norms violations) and sexual risk behaviors among sexual minority men. Utilizing an online data collection procedure, a sample of 216 self-identified sexual minority men participated in this study. This study assessed whether sexual objectification, objectification based on masculine appearance norm violations, and the feelings associated with such experiences predicted sexual risk behaviors. An additional goal of this study was to explore the potential moderating role of emotional valence in the relationship between various forms of objectification and sexual risk behaviors. Results revealed that a greater frequency of sexual objectification, as well as positive feelings associated with sexual objectification experiences, were directly related to more sexual risk behaviors. Additionally, negative feelings associated with objectification based on masculine appearance norm violations predicted sexual risk behaviors. No support was found for the moderating role of emotional valence in the relationship between the different forms of objectification and sexual risk behaviors. Implications for research and intervention are discussed, as well as the strengths and limitations of the study.

Minority Stress and Bisexual Women’s Disordered Eating: The Role of Maladaptive Coping

The purpose of this study was to explore the link between bisexual women’s experiences of anti-bisexual discrimination and disordered eating, while examining potential mediating variables underlying this link: outness/identity concealment and maladaptive coping (i.e., coping via internalization, detachment, and drug and alcohol use). A total of 353 bisexual women participated in this study. The relationship between outness and disordered eating was not significant. Higher levels of anti-bisexual discrimination were related to more disordered eating behaviors, and this relationship was mediated by coping via internalization. However, anti-bisexual discrimination was directly related to more coping via detachment and drug and alcohol use. Findings from the study suggest that attending to bisexual women’s experiences of discrimination in counseling is particularly important. Moreover, assisting bisexual women in resisting internalization of discriminatory experiences may be a potential point of intervention for mental health professionals working with bisexual women experiencing disordered eating.

The Relationships Among Masculine Appearance Norm Violations, Childhood Harassment for Gender Nonconformity, and Body Image Concerns Among Sexual Minority Men

INTRODUCTION: This study tested the degree to which objectification based on masculine appearance norm violations and childhood harassment for gender nonconformity contributed to body image concerns (i.e., body shame and body surveillance) among sexual minority men. METHODS: A total of 216 sexual minority men living in the United States completed an online survey, with an average age of 29.92 (SD = 10.61). RESULTS: Body surveillance significantly mediated the relationship between masculine appearance norm violations and body shame. Body surveillance did not significantly mediate the relationship between childhood harassment for gender nonconformity and body shame; rather, childhood harassment for gender nonconformity directly predicted body shame. It was hypothesized that childhood harassment for gender nonconformity would moderate the following relationships: masculine appearance norm violations and body surveillance, masculine appearance norm violations and body shame, and body surveillance and body shame. No evidence for moderation was observed. DISCUSSION: Implications for mental health practice, future research, and strengths and limitations of the study are also discussed.

Leadership Development in Counseling Psychology: Voices of Leadership Academy Alumni

In 2012, the Society of Counseling Psychology instituted the Leadership Academy (LA) to develop a pipeline of diverse leaders within the Society and the field of psychology. The present study aimed to: (a) better understand the retrospective perceived impact of the training on LA alumni, and (b) provide data about how LA alumni view their leadership development within the context of counseling psychology values. Fourteen LA alumni responded to a series of open-ended survey questions, and we examined the data through qualitative content analysis. Results yielded seven thematic categories: (a) Influences of the LA on Leadership Development and Leadership Skills, (b) Supports to Leadership Development, (c) Barriers to Leadership Development, (d) Greater Awareness of Diversity and Social Identities, (e) Growth Areas of the LA, (f) Personal Definition of Leadership, and (g) Leadership Attainment. Implications for leadership training programs are discussed.

Bisexual women’s discrimination and mental health outcomes: The roles of resilience and collective action.

Using an additive intersectional perspective, this study examined the roles of antibisexual discrimination and sexist experiences in relation to bisexual women’s psychological distress and well-being. In addition, group- (i.e., feminist and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer [LGBTQ] collective action) and individual-level (i.e., resilience) protective factors were examined in these respective links. A total of 304 predominantly White, bisexual women participated in this study. At the bivariate level, results suggested that both antibisexual discrimination and sexist experiences were significantly related to more psychological distress. In addition, resilience and involvement in feminist and LGBTQ activities were related to more psychological well-being. When entered into a hierarchical regression analysis, sexism was uniquely positively related to psychological distress, whereas resilience and collective action were uniquely negatively related to distress. In addition, resilience moderated the sexism–distress link, such that the positive relationship became nonsignificant at high levels of resilience. In addition, resilience and collective action were uniquely positively related to psychological well-being. Results demonstrate the importance of attending to the role of discriminatory (i.e., antibisexual and sexist) experiences in bisexual women’s lives. Moreover, results suggest that resilience may be an important individual-level protective factor that may aid in bisexual women’s psychological health.

Minority stress and racial or ethnic minority status: A test of the greater risk perspective.

Latent variable structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test expectations of stigma, internalized heterosexism, and identity disclosure as mediators of the associations of heterosexist discrimination with psychological distress and well-being. Multigroup invariance testing was used to evaluate the predictions of the greater risk perspective, which contends that racial or ethnic minority (REM) sexual minorities (a) experience higher levels of minority stressors relative to their White peers and (b) that the associations among these stressors and between the stressors and mental health outcomes are stronger for REM sexual minority people than for White sexual minority people. Participants were 813 sexual minority adults (n = 318 REM; n = 495 White) who completed an online survey. Results of the SEM indicated that heterosexist discrimination, expectations of stigma, and low disclosure were each uniquely related to poorer mental health (i.e., higher distress, lower well-being); internalized heterosexism’s unique associations with both mental health outcomes were nonsignificant. Expectations of stigma and disclosure (but not internalized heterosexism) mediated the relations of heterosexist discrimination with psychological distress and well-being. The invariance tests did not support the predictions of the greater risk perspective. Implications of these findings for clinical work and research with racially and ethnically diverse sexual minority people are discussed.

Bisexual women’s discriminatory experiences and psychological distress: Exploring the roles of coping and LGBTQ community connectedness.

The present study examined the relations among antibisexual discrimination, coping mechanisms, psychological distress, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) community connectedness among bisexual women. It was hypothesized that both adaptive (i.e., resistance, education/advocacy) and maladaptive (i.e., internalization, drug and alcohol use, detachment) coping mechanisms would significantly mediate the positive link between antibisexual discrimination and psychological distress. More specifically, we expected that antibisexual discrimination would predict more adaptive and maladaptive coping mechanisms, although adaptive coping would relate to less distress and maladaptive coping would relate to more distress. In addition, LGBTQ community connectedness was explored as a moderating variable in each of these links (i.e., moderated mediation). Antibisexual discrimination was significantly positively correlated with all coping mechanisms. Moreover, antibisexual discrimination, education/advocacy, internalization, resistance, and detachment significantly positively predicted psychological distress. In addition, education/advocacy, internalization, resistance, and detachment partially mediated the positive relation between antibisexual discrimination and psychological distress, whereas alcohol and drug use did not. LGBTQ community connectedness moderated the link between antibisexual discrimination and psychological distress, such that the relation was nonsignificant among higher levels of community connectedness. Practice implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

How Do Feminist-Identified Women Cope With Discrimination? A Feminist Standpoint and Grounded Theory Study

Women experience a higher incidence of mental health concerns compared to men, and scholars have located these challenges within a discriminatory sociocultural context. Although scholars have suggested that feminist attitudes may shield women from discrimination, research on the protective role of feminist attitudes is discrepant and suggests that there are distinct differences between those who do and do not self-identify as feminist; namely, self-identifiers may be more protected in the face of discrimination. Utilizing grounded theory and intersectional feminist standpoint methodologies, in this study we sought to understand the ways that self-identified womanist and feminist women cope with discrimination. We found that women’s feminist and cultural identities intersected, each informing the other and influencing coping mechanisms and well-being. Moreover, results demonstrated that feminist women call upon a variety of different coping mechanisms in response to discrimination, including advocacy, social support, self-care, cognitive processes, disengagement, connecting to one’s femininity, and religion and spirituality. Although possessing a feminist and/or womanist identity appeared to be protective in some cases, at other times it did not. Some participants expressed feeling marginalized from the feminist community and felt that their greater awareness of oppression was an additional source of distress. Based on these findings, we provide suggestions for mental health clinicians and research scholars.

The development and psychometric evaluation of the Trans Discrimination Scale: TDS-21.

To date, researchers assessing the role of discrimination in trans peoples’ lives have relied upon measures that were developed and normed on LGB populations, culled specific items from large-scale survey data, or used more generalized measures of discrimination that do not specifically assess the unique forms of discrimination that trans people may encounter. Thus, the purpose of this three-part study was to develop and provide psychometric support for a measure of trans peoples’ discrimination. In Study 1, a five-factor model emerged, which included: Microaggressions and Harassment, Restricted Career and Work Opportunities, Maltreatment in Health Care Settings, Harassment by Law Enforcement, and Bullying and Harassment in Educational Settings. Internal consistency estimates for subscale and total scale scores ranged from acceptable to excellent. Results from Study 2 revealed that a bifactor model provided the best fit to the data, revealing that the scale is essentially unidimensional. In addition, convergent and concurrent validity was supported, demonstrating significant positive correlations with another measure of trans discrimination, internalized transphobia, nondisclosure, negative expectations for the future, psychological distress, and perceived stress. In Study 3, results revealed excellent test–retest reliability up to a three-week period. Collectively, results suggested that the Transgender Discrimination Scale-21 (TDS-21) is a psychometrically sound measure that may be used to advance research on the role of discrimination in trans peoples’ lives.