Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Same-Sex Sexual Coercion Among Women: The Impact Of Minority Stress On Perpetration And Victimization Experiences Of Women Of Diverse Sexual Identities, Allison Kirschbaum

Dissertations

The purpose of the current study was to investigate women’s experiences with same-sex sexual coercion perpetration and victimization. Specifically, I sought to explore the role that the stress of living as a sexual minority plays in these experiences as well as to determine whether the psychological variables of perceived powerlessness, psychological distress, social support, and alcohol use mediate the relationship between minority stress and perpetration and victimization experiences. Data were collected online from self-identified women and individuals assigned female at birth who reported experiencing genital sexual contact with another woman (N=339). Of the cisgender women in the sample, 31.6% reported …

A Mixed-Methods Study Of Sexual Assault In Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Adults In The U.S., Sasha Nichole Canan

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Background. Previous research finds that (1) lesbian and bisexual (LB) women as well as gay and bisexual (GB) men have higher rates of rape victimization compared to their heterosexual (H) peers and (2) perceived familial support reduces the impact of some of rape’s negative health outcomes in heterosexual victims. However, specific contextual factors regarding rape and assessment of familial support for LGB victims are severely lacking. Also, measurements of sexual assault victimization have yet to be validated in this population.

Methodology. The current study used a mixed-methods design that included two phases of data collection. Phase 1 was a national …

"I Know I Can't Be The Only Lesbian Out There:" An Inductive Thematic Analysis Of A Virtual Community Of Lesbian Breast Cancer Survivors, Rachael Lynn Wandrey

Theses and Dissertations

Sexual minority women are at a significantly greater risk for developing breast cancer (BC) than heterosexual women. Little is known about the unique BC experiences of lesbian women. The present thesis describes the findings of an inductive thematic analysis of messages posted to a large lesbian-specific discussion forum found on breastcancer.org. Fifteen themes were identified, including privileging sensation over appearance, experiencing heterosexism in medical contexts, believing others perceive a lack of distress over breast loss because of patient’s lesbian sexual orientation, feeling pressure from surgeons to get reconstructive surgery, and viewing the BC journey as a sexual-identity disclosure crisis. In …

The Effects Of Buddhist Psychological Practices On The Mental Health And Social Attitudes Of Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual People, Jessica Lynn Fritzges

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

This non-experimental, quantitative study explored the effects of the Buddhist-derived practices of mindfulness and loving-kindness meditations on the wellness of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people. LGB people are at higher risk of mental illness and increased social isolation due to minority stress; Buddhist-derived mindfulness practices mediate these effects in other groups. Lazarus and Folkman's transactional model of stress and coping was the theoretical model explaining how positive cognitive appraisal induced by meditation can mediate effects of stress. This study examined whether mental health scores on the Emotional Symptoms Checklist (ESC), social attitudes measured on the Unjust World Views Scale, …