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Evaluation ViewAttendees 5

LGBTQ+
Session Type:: Symposia

Symposium 46 - Understanding and contextualizing LGBTQ+ Identity: Implications for Research and Clinical Practice

Saturday, November 22, 2025
11:30 AM - 1:00 PM CST
Location: Celestin D&E, Level 3
CE: 1.5

Keywords: LGBTQ+, Community-Based, Mental Health Disparities
Level of Familiarity: Advanced
Recommended Readings: Diamond, L. M. (2016). Sexual fluidity in male and females. Current Sexual Health Reports, 8(4), 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-016-0092-z,   Flynn, S. S., Touhey, S., Sullivan, T. R., & Mereish, E. H. (2024). Queer and transgender joy: A daily diary qualitative study of positive identity factors among sexual and gender minority adolescents. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000733,   Hinton, J. D. X., de la Piedad Garcia, X., Kaufmann, L. M., Koc, Y., & Anderson, J. R. (2022). A systematic and meta-analytic review of identity centrality among LGBTQ groups: An assessment of psychosocial correlates. Journal of Sex Research, 59(5), 568–586. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1967849,   Savin-Williams, R. C. (2001). A critique of research on sexual-minority youths. Journal of Adolescence, 24(1), 5–13. https://doi.org/10.1006/jado.2000.0369,  

The number of people who identify as LGBTQ+ has increased steadily over the past decade, with over one fifth of young adults aged 18-26 identifying as LGBTQ+ in 2023. While societal progress has been made to affirm LGBTQ+ individuals, health disparities in this population persist. LGBTQ+ individuals disproportionally report a range of mental and behavioral health challenges compared to their heterosexual counterparts. Addressing these disparities requires more than general acceptance and inclusivity. It necessitates a nuanced understanding of how LGBTQ+ individuals experience and navigate their identities. This symposium presents five studies that examine cognitive, affective and behavioral dimensions of LGBTQ+ identities using diverse methods from both developmental and clinical scientific perspectives.

LGBTQ+ identity can be thought of as a complex interplay of individual experience, external perception, and social support. Our first presenter will lay the foundation by discussing the developmental patterns of identity, attraction, and behavior over time, highlighting the diverse ways in which Latina/o/x LGB+ adolescents develop their sexual orientation. Our second presenter will contextualize changes in sexual and gender identity that may occur in sexual and gender minority individuals assigned female at birth. To unpack how individual experiences and external perceptions interact to shape facets of gender identity, our third presenter will provide information from an analysis of “passing” among transmasculine non-binary individuals. To broaden our understanding of social factors that influence LGBTQ+ individuals’ experiences of their identity, our fourth presenter will introduce novel methods for measuring behaviors that reinforce LGBTQ+ identity through connection and affirmation. Finally, our fifth presenter will emphasize the critical role of identity-specific sources of support—both social and informational—in shaping LGBTQ+ experiences and protecting against suicidality. Our discussant is a leader in the field of LGBTQ+ health, who will synthesize findings across studies and provide guidance on their application in clinical and research efforts.

Together, these talks provide a strong and comprehensive foundation for both researchers and clinicians to consider when working with LGBTQ+ populations. This body of work combines qualitative and quantitative methods to capture lived experience among diverse LGBTQ+ individuals. Together, this research offers valuable insights into the specific and unique experiences of identity among LGBTQ+ individuals. Toward the goal of expanding the scope of CBT approaches, this work can inform individualized, evidence-based intervention that affirms diverse LGBTQ+ identities.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of this session, the learner will be able to:
  1. Provide diverse scientific perspectives about the ways in which LGBTQ+ individuals experience and navigate their identity.
  2. Explore how and contextualize why LGBTQ+ individuals develop and experience change in dimensions of their sexual orientation and gender identity.
  3. Understand whether and how individual experiences and external perceptions interact to affirm identity facets in LGBTQ+ individuals.
  4. Identify types of resources, activities, and community spaces across geosocial spaces that support LGBTQ+ individuals.
  5. Elucidate identity-centered factors that assist in developing individualized, affirming intervention approaches for LGBTQ+ populations.

Presentations:

  • 11:35 AM - 11:52 AM CST
    (SYM 46) Behavioral Pathways to LGBTQ+ Resilience: A Mixed-methods Approach to Understanding Connection to LGBTQ+ Identities

    Speaker: Saskia L. Jorgensen, B.A. – The George Washington University

    Co-author: Saskia L. Jorgensen, B.A. – The George Washington University

    Co-author: Paddy Loftus, B.A. – The George Washington University

    Co-author: Chase Isaacs, None – The George Washington University

    Co-author: Sarah Calabrese, Ph.D. – The George Washington University

    Co-author: Fallon Goodman, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – George Washington University

  • 11:52 AM - 12:09 PM CST
    (SYM 46) Longitudinal Patterns of Sexual Identity, Attraction, and Behavior in Latina/o/x Adolescents: Associations with Familismo and Ethnic Identity

    Speaker: Joseph M. Green, B.S. (he/him/his) – George Washington University

    Co-author: David Huebner, Ph.D., MPH – George Washington University School of Public Health

    Co-author: Kathleen Roche, Ph.D. (she/her/hers) – George Washington University

  • 12:09 PM - 12:26 PM CST
    (SYM 46) Reasons for Changes in Sexual and Gender Identity over Time: A Qualitative Study of Sexual and Gender Minority Individuals Assigned Female at Birth

    Speaker: Kate Dorrell, M.S. (she/her/hers) – Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science

    Co-author: Sabrina Bothwell, M.A. – University of Cincinnati

    Co-author: Emily Devlin, B.A. – University of Cincinnati

    Co-author: Michael Newcomb, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine

    Co-author: Sarah Whitton, PhD – University of Cincinnati

    Co-author: Brian Feinstein, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – Rosalind Franklin University

  • 12:26 PM - 12:43 PM CST
    (SYM 46) The Importance of LGBTQIA+ Identity Affirming Social Support

    Speaker: John "Kai" Kellerman, M.S. – Rutgers University

    Co-author: Erika C. Esposito, Ph.D. – DBT Works, LLC

    Co-author: Evan M. Kleiman, Ph.D. – Rutgers University

  • 12:43 PM - 1:00 PM CST
    (SYM 46) If They Look at Me and Land at He/him, It's the Consolation Prize: transmasculine Nonbinary Individuals' Conceptualization of Passing

    Speaker: Lex Pulice-Farrow, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – American University

    Co-author: Lex Pulice-Farrow, Ph.D. (he/him/his) – American University