mcnair2021 - 10:10 AM PDT Breakout 2: Psychology and Cognitive Science Poster Session E

Daysy Bustamante

University of Colorado, Denver

Presentation 3

Culturally Responsive Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare for Youth of Color

Sexual behaviors that contribute to sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and unintended pregnancy are some of the leading causes of death and disability among youth. STIs and unintended pregnancy are disproportionately high among Black and Hispanic youth (youth of color). For example, youth of color represent 79% of HIV and 75% of gonorrhea infections among 13- to 19-year-olds. A critical barrier to improve health outcomes is the lack of cultural competence integration in pediatric medical training. As a result, patients report feeling unsatisfied with the quality, content, and developmental approach of providers with regard to comprehensive sexual and reproductive healthcare. A literature review was conducted in the University of Colorado Denver’s online library, to identify US-based, peer-reviewed articles published in English between 2010 through June 2021. References of articles identified for inclusion supplemented the search. Three authors independently reviewed the abstracts and/or full text of 120 articles for the following inclusion criteria: presented culturally responsive considerations in the health care setting; focused on sexual and reproductive health care; and the study’s population includes youth of color. This project explored best practices and areas of growth in culturally responsive sexual and reproductive healthcare for youth of color. Specifically, after reviewing sexual and reproductive health disparities in youth of color, research documenting the role of healthcare is considered. Research on existing culturally responsive approaches is then described. The review concludes with considerations towards gaps in culturally conscious sexual and reproductive healthcare for youth of color and future directions that may be explored.

Rachel Miller

University of Minnesota Duluth

Presentation 4

Experimental Manipulation of Sexual Nostalgia

Sexual satisfaction contributes significantly to the quality of one’s life and offers a variety of mental/physical health benefits. Consequently, researchers have conducted numerous studies examining ways to improve one’s sexual satisfaction. Despite extensive literature, only one study has investigated how sexual nostalgia (defined as “the sentimental longing for or wistful reflection on past sexual memories with one’s current sexual partner”) impacts sexual satisfaction (Bjorback et al., 2021), whose results revealed that adults engaging in sexual nostalgia to a greater extent reported higher levels of sexual satisfaction than those nostalgizing to a lesser extent, suggesting that sexual nostalgia may serve as a useful technique for enhancing sexual satisfaction. That said, the causal link has yet to be examined. The current study adopted an experimental design to examine the causal relationship between sexual nostalgia and satisfaction. A total of 140 participants (89 men, 51 women) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (control, sexual nostalgia, or general nostalgia) and completed a battery of questionnaires (including the New Sexual Satisfaction Scale; Štulhofer et al., 2010). Preliminary results revealed that there was not a significant effect of the nostalgia condition on self-reported sexual satisfaction (F[2,137] = 1.45, p = 0.24), likely because of the short duration of the research design. In the future, researchers should examine the impact of sexual nostalgia using a longitudinal format by assessing satisfaction weeks or months later. Nevertheless, these findings have implications for clinicians working with couples experiencing low sexual desire and/or unmet sexual needs.

Emma Estrella

University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Presentation 5

A Scoping Review of Gender-Based Public Harassment in the United States

Background. Research on sexual harassment has focused on non-public locations such as the workplace or schools, which has left gender-based harassment that occurs in public spaces understudied despite its pervasiveness and harmful effects. Objective. We are conducting a scoping review to synthesize the empirical literature on gender-based harassment in public places in the US (e.g., streets, stores, transportation). We are focusing on the definition, measurement, prevalence, and outcomes of gender-based harassment in public places. Design. The PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews (Tricco et al., 2018) informed our study. Ten databases were searched to identify published and grey literature that examined gender-based public harassment. Preliminary Results. The initial database searches yielded 7,367 titles and abstracts that were screened for potential relevance. Full text documents (e.g., journal articles, books, dissertations) were examined for eligibility (n = 345) if they appeared to reference gender-based harassment that occurred in physical public places, were empirical, and were conducted in the US or when these aspects were unclear. Sixty-five documents met inclusion criteria. Backward (citations in the 65 documents) and forward (who cited the 65 documents) citation tracking yielded an additional 3,234 titles and abstracts that were screened for potential relevance. An additional 362 documents met criteria for full-text review, which is in progress. This screening and review process will continue until citation tracking no longer yields unscreened literature. The final set of documents will be coded for relevant information by one coder and one verifier using a data charting form.

Andrea Johnson

Boise State University

Presentation 1

Social Validity Survey of Interventions Used in Treating Trauma in Idaho

Social validity is a way to determine the current acceptability of and satisfaction of certain types of treatments or interventions. This research specifically assesses how mental health providers perceive the treatment modalities available to intervene with people who have experienced trauma. This research may provide insight into how mental health practitioners view currently available trauma interventions. Presently, some studies show what individuals think of the trauma treatment they receive but little information on how providers feel about the treatment modalities they are using. Many families and, by extension, children are deeply affected by trauma, which means the efficacy of interventions is essential. Part of understanding whether and how an intervention works comes not only from a client's point of view but from the provider's point of view as well. There has been some social validity research that shows that the attitude of the provider and ease of use of a treatment protocol can significantly affect how well an intervention works for the client. This project explores what trauma-focused treatment protocols providers use and why they use them (e.g., which they perceive as most efficacious, which are easiest to use). The data in this project will be gathered using snowball sampling of Idaho mental health professionals who serve people who have experienced trauma; these professionals will be asked to complete a short, web-based survey featuring four open-ended questions. The questions focus on the providers’ reports on: 1) which treatment protocols they typically use; 2) why they choose to use the treatment protocols that they do; 3) what types of trauma are most often reported by their clients; and 4) what types of community resources they believe would be most beneficial for trauma survivors. Although this research is currently in its developmental stages and is exploratory in nature, certain results are expected to emerge. It is likely that certain treatment protocols, such as EMDR and CBT, are reported most commonly used in working with people who have experienced trauma.

Cristian Moreno-Vazquez

California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Presentation 2

Exploring attitudes towards Transgender Asian-Americans

This presentation will describe a proposed investigation into attitudes and behaviors toward transgender Asian-Americans (TAA). In the US, the transgender community and the Asian-American community have historically faced prejudice and discrimination (Hughto et al., 2015; Ren and Feagin, 2021). Currently this persists, with an increase of hate crimes committed toward Asian-Americans as a result of COVID-19 rhetoric within the US (Dhanani and Franz, 2020; Gover et al., 2020). What a TAA may experience could be greater than what each identity individually may experience, therefore there may be a greater bias against TAAs due to this intersectionality. Transgender identities can be perceived as a threat to masculinity by some men, who may respond by being less supportive of transgender rights (Harrison and Michelson, 2019). The COVID-19 pandemic rhetoric in the US is related to an intergroup threat, which can become justifications for prejudice, discrimination, and hate-crimes against Asian-Americans. Although there have been studies examining intersectionality, none have examined the intersectionality of attitudes toward TAAs. This study will attempt to examine if there would be a greater bias against TAA than non-TAA and whether hate crimes will be perceived as justified. The proposed examination will be conducted online through Implicit Association Tests (IAT), vignettes and questionnaires. The IAT will be used to measure implicit biases and the vignettes to measure attitudes towards hate crimes against TAAs.