Clinical trial NCT05559944: Brief Writing Programs for Sexual Minority Young Adults in Alabama
Official title: Brief Writing Programs for Sexual Minority Young Adults in Alabama
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: WITHDRAWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Expressive Writing
Self-Affirmation
Control
Keywords: LGBTQIA+
Body Image
Alabama
Eating Disorders
Lead sponsor: Auburn University
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2022-09-29
Enrollment: 0
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Maximum age (years): 30
Standard ages: ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: yes
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: PREVENTION

Brief summary: Sexual minority (SM; e.g., gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, queer) young adults are at elevated risk for eating disorders (EDs). Researchers have used minority stress theory to understand how increased risk is due, in part, to stigma and discrimination from being part of a marginalized group. Despite this glaring inequity, limited programs exist to prevent EDs in SM populations. Critically, many SM young people live in rural regions with high anti-LGBTQ+ stigma and limited access to SM-specific resources. The proposed project will address this gap by adapting and evaluating two brief online interventions to reduce ED risk. N = 120 SM young adults in rural regions of Alabama with high LGBTQ+ stigma and low SM-specific resources will be randomized into one three brief online writing interventions: 1) expressive writing (n = 40), 2) self-affirmation (n = 40), or 3) control (n = 40). Participants will complete assessments pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 1-month post-intervention. Aim 1 will assess intervention feasibility and acceptability. Aim 2 will compare the brief online writing interventions to control in improving body image and ED symptoms. Finally, an exploratory aim will examine posited intervention mechanisms and whether the level of SM stigma and discrimination participants experience pre-intervention impacts intervention efficacy. This research will help support and benefit underserved SM young adults by filling a critical need for brief, scalable interventions that can be delivered online to help reduce ED risk. Data from this project will serve as pilot data for a subsequent R-series grant application from NIH.


Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* ages 18-30
* identify as SM (gay, lesbian, bisexual, pansexual, or queer)
* endorse body dissatisfaction
* currently living in one of the following AL counties: Lee, Dallas, Lowndes, Autauga, Coosa, Elmore, Tallapoosa, Macon, or Russell
* have internet access (either via computer/tablet, mobile phone, or community center\[e.g., library\])

Exclusion Criteria:

* meet criteria for an ED, based on self-report screener
* non-English speaking
* Lack of internet access
* Not living in one of the following AL counties: Lee, Dallas, Lowndes, Autauga, Coosa, Elmore, Tallapoosa, Macon, or Russell
* Younger than 18, older than 30

Primary outcomes:
measure: Body Image
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Eating Disorder Symptoms
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
Secondary outcomes:
measure: Internalization of Appearance Ideals and Pressures
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Negative Affect
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Interpersonal Emotion Regulation
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Health-related quality of life
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Social Self-Esteem
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Self-Stigma of Seeking Help
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
measure: Substance Use
timeFrame: changes from baseline through 1-month follow-up
Other outcomes:
measure: Coping Self-Efficacy
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Discrimination
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Internalized Stigma
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Sexual Orientation Concealment
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Rejection Sensitivity
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Community Involvement
timeFrame: Baseline
measure: Intraminority Stress
timeFrame: Baseline
Locations:
Study officials:
affiliation: Auburn University
name: Jordan Merriweather
role: STUDY_DIRECTOR
References: