Psychology observed within every romantic relationship study: Testing equality of parameters across diverse gender and sexual identities

How do we know whether psychological science generalizes across groups? Systematic evaluations are key for establishing the validity of psychological constructs in under-investigated populations. Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people are underrepresented in wellness-framed psychological research. Arguments for their exclusion rely on the recruitment challenges and differences in outcomes and experiences (Junkins, Dugan, et al., 2024). I used an online, monthly longitudinal study measuring personality, social relationships, and mental health to conduct two studies across people with sexual and gender diverse (SGD) identities. I recruited the sample mainly through paid advertisements on Instagram. In study 1, I compared means, variances, and correlations across 34 psychosocial variables between categories of SGM, gender identity, sexual orientation, relationship status, and monogamy (N = 1,743). Consistently, I find largely similarities across gender and sexual orientation categories. These results support a general expectation that similarities are more common than differences in normative psychological processes, although clear differences in means and variances exist for specific experiences and outcomes. In study 2, I used data from the first three waves (N=1,777; 31% retention), 73% of respondents identified as SGM. I examined longitudinal growth parameters, rank-order stability, and cross-lagged correlations. The findings showed remarkably similar associations and rank-order stability. These exploratory results can inform longitudinal research to be better equipped to disentangle processes that support resilience in the face of extant negative influences, address health disparities, and identify associations that are more universal in the studied contexts lending support for diversifying psychological research across SGM identities. Altogether, this work examines prevalences, variations, and associations among basic psychological domains and further emphasizes the necessity of rigorous work to establish the generalizability of past findings to populations historically underrepresented in psychological science.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Psychology

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2024

Author dc:creator

• Junkins, Eleanor J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Derringer, Jaime
• Briley, D.A.
• Ogolsky, Brian G
• Fraley, R. Chris
• Roberts, Brent W

• Personality
• Social Relationships
• Mental Health
• Sexual And Gender Diversity
• Cross-sectional
• Longitudinal
• Gender Differences
• Sexual Orientation Differences

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2024 Eleanor Junkins

Language dc:language

en, eng

Handle dc:identifier

https://hdl.handle.net/2142/125531

OAI record oai:identifier

https://www.ideals.illinois.edu/oai-pmh?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=etdms&identifier=oai%3Awww.ideals.illinois.edu%3A2142%2F125531