5 - (SYM 76) Sexual and Gender Minority Adults' Perspectives on Participating in Self-harm Experience Sampling Research

Abstract Body

Experience sampling research provides valuable insight into self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs). However, we still have a limited understanding of how high-risk study participants with SITB histories respond to these demanding studies. This gap is particularly important to address among sexual and gender minority (SGM) individuals, who have disproportionately high rates of SITBs. Meta-analytic findings show that SGM individuals have 2–3 times higher lifetime rates of non-suicidal self-injury and are far more likely to experience suicidal thoughts and attempt suicide than their heterosexual/cisgender peers (Liu et al., 2019; Marchi et al., 2022). Thus, understanding SGM participants’ experiences in an intensive online study assessing SITBs is important to inform study designs that prioritize participant well-being and ensure high-quality data collection. The present study employed a mixed-methods approach to examine people’s experience with experience sampling methods (ESMs) that target SITB outcomes. Using two samples of community-dwelling adults with significant SITB histories (combined N = 192), we qualitatively analyzed open-ended responses from a subset of 109 individuals (57.8% female; 26.6% trans/gender-expansive; 67.0% LGBQ+; 53.2% White; 16.5% Latinx) who described their perceptions of the research process via a feedback survey. We also examined responses to closed-ended feedback questions among 73 participants who completed the feedback survey and identified as SGM (53.4% female; 39.7% trans/gender-expansive; 100.0% LGBQ+; 61.6% White; 19.2% Latinx). Quantitative analyses also included survey compliance, dropout rate, and iatrogenic effects in the overall sample. Our qualitative interpretation, based in reflexive thematic analysis, of responses to open-ended questions focused on themes related to self-awareness, confronting previously guarded internal experiences, emotion regulation, biographical or “self”-related change, and inconvenience. Quantitative analyses replicated prior work in finding that most people rated the study experience as satisfactory, feasible, and not unduly stressful. Limitations include potential bias, as feedback came from engaged participants; people with difficulty engaging with ESMs were likely underrepresented. Based on our findings, we discuss potential benefits and harms of ESM study participation that we believe should be considered by researchers to promote ethical research practices and a more valid evidence base in the SITB literature.