Lauren Bochicchio

Background: Although global drinking rates are declining, this trend is less evident among women, with LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people at elevated risk for hazardous drinking. In addition to minority stress (e.g., stigma, discrimination), drinking culture and social norms likely shape alcohol use within these groups, yet remain underexplored as potential intervention points. Objective: This study was part of a larger multi-country project on alcohol use among LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary individuals. Because online resources have been found to appeal to stigmatized groups, we aimed to examine LGBTQ+ women’s and nonbinary people’s experiences with alcohol use in Aotearoa New Zealand, identify barriers and facilitators to reducing drinking, and explore their views on features of online interventions that may be acceptable and effective. Design &; Methods: From July to October 2024, we conducted a web-based study using survey methods with LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary participants in Aotearoa New Zealand who drank alcohol at least once a week on average in the past six months. Results: Participants (N = 108; ages 18–69, M = 34, SD = 13) primarily identified as cisgender women (88%), lesbian (60%), and New Zealand European (56.5%). Many had attempted to cut back on their alcohol use, motivated primarily by health, harm reduction, and cost. Support for reducing alcohol consumption included social support, social alternatives to bars and clubs, and No or Lo alcohol beverage options. Open text responses suggested that online interventions were seen as potentially valuable if they focused on health and wellness rather than pathology and abstinence. Conclusion: Affirming health-focused online interventions tailored for LGBTQ+ women and nonbinary people in New Zealand that center sober-curious empowerment, may help reduce harmful alcohol use.

Across the United States, polarizing politics have contributed to the increased stigmatization of transgender (trans) and gender expansive (TGE) youth, reinforcing health inequities for this population. Although lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and/or questioning (LGBTQ+) youth centers have often served as places of refuge for young people across the gender spectrum, literature has yet to show how practices and strategies used in these settings promote TGE affirmation. This qualitative study explores youth and staff experiences within these settings; identifies the services, policies, and environments needed to support TGE community members; and ultimately calls for the expansion of the limited research on TGE experience and affirmation across such spaces. Using data collected in a larger study on affirming practices for LGBTQ+ youth, this article presents findings from in-depth, semistructured focus groups and interviews with TGE (n = 12) youth and staff (n = 12) across four LGBTQ+ community-based organizations in two large urban centers. Study findings show these organizations provide TGE affirmation through language, programming, and atmospheres of openness to identity exploration. Essential to these offerings are organizational policy mandates, such as correct pronoun usage and TGE-specific programming. Youth often juxtapose their experiences of affirmation within LGBTQ+ spaces with experiences of invalidation from the cisheteronormative cultures within their school or home environments. Implications for future practice and research include administering ongoing training on TGE-affirming language and developing comprehensive accountability measures (e.g., TGE-inclusive community guidelines). Institutions with these systems in place are well-equipped to contribute to the fight for trans liberation. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).

The COVID-19 pandemic created barriers to social support for sexual minority women (SMW), which is vital to the promotion of mental and behavioral health resilience when confronting prolonged and/or excessive stress. We used phenomenological analysis to characterize ways SMW experienced and fostered social support during the pandemic. Seventeen Black, Latina, and White SMW completed Zoom and telephone interviews about their experiences during the initial months of the COVID-19 pandemic, including changes in support from family, friends, partners, neighbors, colleagues, and the LGBTQ+ community. Study findings highlight the importance of social support and mutual aid for SMW's resilience and wellbeing during the pandemic.

While significant evidence demonstrates disproportionate burden of poor health among sexual minority men and transgender women, there is a dearth of research on the health of sexual minority women (SMW). We conducted a review to examine social stressors, physical and mental health, and health behaviors of SMW in post-communist countries in Europe. In September 2023, August 2024, and January 2025, we used the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines and PRISMA-ScR protocol to conduct a scoping review of empirical quantitative or qualitative studies published in English, Romanian, Czech, and/or Russian that focused on the health of adult SMW living in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czechia, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Ukraine. Seven databases were searched. We found few research articles (N = 21) that met full inclusion criteria. Existing evidence documented poor mental health, discrimination in the workplace, reproductive health problems, coming out and relationship challenges, and heightened risk of substance use. Most studies were conducted in Poland; the earliest report was published in 2011. Only one quarter of the studies focused exclusively on SMW, and most study samples included few SMW. This first review of literature on SMW’s health in post-communist countries in Europe indicates a dearth of research on and under-prioritization of the health and needs of SMW, signaling a pressing need for related health equity research. Longitudinal and interventional studies with large samples are warranted to document SMW’s health needs as well as intervention studies on the stigma-driven mechanisms and sources that perpetuate SMW’s marginalization to improve health outcomes of this underrepresented population group.

It is well-documented that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning (LGBTQ1+) youth experience higher risk of physical (e.g. cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders) and mental health ...

Background: Globally, women consume less alcohol than men, but alcohol consumption among women has declined less in recent years than among men. Drinking rates and alcohol-related harms vary substantially across population groups of women, and sexual minority women (eg, lesbian, bisexual, and queer) are at notably high risk. An emerging body of literature suggests that in addition to minority stress (eg, stigma, discrimination), drinking norms and drinking cultures likely influence sexual minority women’s drinking. Almost no research has explored these factors as possible targets of interventions. Sober curiosity is a rapidly growing wellness movement that may be particularly salient for sexual minority women. It encourages individuals to be “curious” about the reasons they choose to drink and alcohol’s effects on their life and health. Objective: The aims of this research are to (1) explore the perspectives of the drinking social worlds of sexual minority women, their awareness of the sober curious movement, perceptions of their own and their peers’ drinking and desire to drink less, and perceived barriers and facilitations to changing their drinking behaviors and (2) identify key elements of an alcohol reduction intervention tailored for sexual minority women. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on alcohol interventions with sexual minority women. The handful of studies we found paid scant attention to drinking cultures, normative beliefs, or other key elements of sober curiosity. To address the study aims, we are conducting 2 descriptive studies with adult (>18 years) sexual minority women using mixed methods. One includes focus group interviews (n=24-36) and a national survey (n=100-120) with sexual minority women in Scotland. The other includes in-depth interviews (n=18-20) with sexual minority women in the United States. Data from the 2 countries and 3 sources will be analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods to identify patterns and relationships across data to validate or corroborate findings. Results: Each of the studies received ethics approval in August 2023 and is currently open for recruitment. We anticipate completing data collection in spring 2025. The results of qualitative analyses will be summarized as themes, and results of survey data analyses will be summarized in tables. Findings will be presented to 2 panels of international experts who will assist in identifying critical elements of an alcohol reduction intervention tailored to the unique needs of sexual minority women. Conclusions: With the assistance of the expert panels, we will use Acceptability, Practicability, Effectiveness, Affordability, Side-Effects, and Equity criteria to inform the development of a tailored intervention building on tenants of sober curiosity to assist sexual minority women in reducing harmful drinking. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/63282

Introduction: Sexual minority women (SMW) are more likely than heterosexual women to meet criteria for hazardous drinking (HD). Sober curiosity, which centres on non‐pathologising approaches such as mindfulness and support for questioning norms that encourage heavy/hazardous alcohol use, may be a particularly salient non‐stigmatising option for SMW to reduce alcohol consumption. However, SMW's perceptions of sober curiosity as a strategy for changing drinking behaviours have not been explored.Methods: We conducted in‐depth individual interviews with a purposive sample of 17 SMW from the United States who self‐reported moderate to heavy alcohol consumption or a desire to reduce their drinking. Questions explored the socio‐cultural contexts of SMW's drinking, their desire to examine and/or to reduce their drinking and perceived supports and barriers for doing so.Results: SMW described heavy drinking norms, the centrality of alcohol in social spaces and events (both queer and non‐queer) and alcohol use as a way to reduce stress, as factors that contribute to HD. Although some participants had mixed opinions about the term ‘sober curiosity’, they described feeling motivated to evaluate their alcohol consumption. Barriers to reducing alcohol use included fear of social rejection and loss of social connections.Discussion and Conclusion: Overall, findings suggest sexual identity‐specific online support and resources reflecting the sober curious philosophy have the potential to be useful for SMW seeking to reduce alcohol consumption. Key facilitators may include access to opportunities for connection in alcohol‐free settings, social support and educational resources regarding alcohol and its impact on health.

Journal of Medical Internet Research - International Scientific Journal for Medical Research, Information and Communication on the Internet #Preprint #PeerReviewMe: Warning: This is a unreviewed preprint. Readers are warned that the document has not been peer-reviewed by expert/patient reviewers or an academic editor, may contain misleading claims, and is likely to undergo changes before final publication, if accepted, or may have been rejected/withdrawn. Readers with interest and expertise are encouraged to sign up as peer-reviewer, if the paper is within an open peer-review period. Please cite this preprint only for review purposes or for grant applications and CVs (if you are the author). Background: Globally, women consume less alcohol than men, but alcohol consumption among women has declined less in recent years than among men. Drinking rates and alcohol-related harms vary substantially across population groups of women, and sexual minority women (eg, lesbian, bisexual, and queer) are at notably high risk. An emerging body of literature suggests that in addition to minority stress (eg, stigma, discrimination), drinking norms and drinking cultures likely influence sexual minority women’s drinking. Almost no research has explored these factors as possible targets of interventions. Sober curiosity is a rapidly growing wellness movement that may be particularly salient for sexual minority women. It encourages individuals to be “curious” about the reasons they choose to drink and alcohol’s effects on their life and health. Objective: The aims of this research are to (1) explore the perspectives of the drinking social worlds of sexual minority women, their awareness of the sober curious movement, perceptions of their own and their peers’ drinking and desire to drink less, and perceived barriers and facilitations to changing their drinking behaviors and (2) identify key elements of an alcohol reduction intervention tailored for sexual minority women. Methods: We conducted a comprehensive review of the literature on alcohol interventions with sexual minority women. The handful of studies we found paid scant attention to drinking cultures, normative beliefs, or other key elements of sober curiosity. To address the study aims, we are conducting 2 descriptive studies with adult (>18 years) sexual minority women using mixed methods. One includes focus group interviews (n=24-36) and a national survey (n=100-120) with sexual minority women in Scotland. The other includes in-depth interviews (n=18-20) with sexual minority women in the United States. Data from the 2 countries and 3 sources will be analyzed using qualitative and quantitative methods to identify patterns and relationships across data to validate or corroborate findings. Results: Each of the studies received ethics approval in August 2023 and is currently open for recruitment. We anticipate completing data collection in spring 2025. The results of qualitative analyses will be summarized as themes, and results of survey data analyses will be summarized in tables. Findings will be presented to 2 panels of international experts who will assist in identifying critical elements of an alcohol reduction intervention tailored to the unique needs of sexual minority women. Conclusions: With the assistance of the expert panels, we will use Acceptability, Practicability, Effectiveness, Affordability, Side-Effects, and Equity criteria to inform the development of a tailored intervention building on tenants of sober curiosity to assist sexual minority women in reducing harmful drinking.

A growing body of literature provides evidence that sexual minority women (SMW; e.g., lesbian, bisexual) are at greater risk of negative mental health and substance use outcomes than are heterosexual women. While minority stress may partially explain these disparities, it does not fully account for them. Therefore, it is necessary to identify how other risk factors (i.e., childhood sexual abuse [CSA]) contribute to SMW's increased risk of negative mental health and substance use outcomes. We conducted a systematic literature review to identify and synthesize the state of knowledge about CSA and mental health and substance use outcomes among SMW. Two independent reviewers screened 347 articles identified in searches of five databases (Web of Science, PsycInfo, CINAHL, PubMed, and Embase). Eligible articles were peer-reviewed, reported quantitative or mixed methods results focused on mental health or substance use outcomes among adult SMW with a history of CSA. Twenty-four papers were included in the review. Findings clearly show that SMW report higher rates of CSA than heterosexual women. Findings also suggest that CSA may mediate the relationship between minority sexual identity and some negative outcomes. Future studies should include minority stress factors, a broader range of mental health outcomes (apart from substance use and suicide), and more nuanced measures of CSA. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).