Master of Arts in Psychology, Cleveland State University, 2014, College of Sciences and Health Professions

While studies continue to examine the effects of diversity and inclusion efforts on protected classes within the United States, transgender individuals remain relatively ignored in that research or are given token representation in research about sexual orientation. By focusing on transgender inclusion as a gender issue with similar but different challenges to both sexual orientation and cisgender women with a careful eye on how race also impacts these experiences, and examining where transgender individuals face the greatest difficulties, organizations can begin to make their workplaces more affirming and inclusive of transgender people, drawing on that inclusion for increased engagement. The study attempted to find predictive factors of outness tied to various aspects of the Transgender Climate Inventory and the Job Descriptive Index, drawing on research that suggests being out in the workplace for sexual minorities increases engagement. Out of 25 possible variables four were found that predicted the level of outness participants displayed at work: [transgender employees are comfortable talking about their personal lives with coworkers], [transgender employees must be secretive], [transgender people consider it a comfortable place to work], and [my immediate work group is supportive of transgender coworkers].

Committee: Steven Slane PhD. (Advisor); Donald Allensworth-Davies PhD. (Committee Member); Victoria Winbush PhD. (Committee Member) Subjects: Gender; Gender Studies; Glbt Studies; Organization Theory; Organizational Behavior; Psychology

Doctor of Management, Case Western Reserve University, 2013, Weatherhead School of Management

We explore the effect of sexual orientation disclosure by first focusing on the lived experience of executives who came out in middle to late career to expose their orientation and second by investigating the influence of emotional intelligence on engaging in ‘outness' behaviors. In the first part, we conducted, to our knowledge, the first empirical study specifically focused on gay and lesbian senior executives who came out in their organizations at late career stages. Phenomenological interviews with 25 executives revealed prioritization of professional vs. personal identity both before and after coming out, emphasized the recursive nature of coming out in the executive suite and showed positive organizational outcomes of personal intentional change when gay and lesbian executives leverage their status to promote policy and culture reforms. In the second part, we wanted to establish the influence that Emotional Intelligence had on “outness” of a gay or lesbian professional? This study consisted of a quantitative analysis on 114 lesbian and gay executives. The study reveals that the adaptability and self-control dimensions of Emotional Intelligence positively impact Outness. Furthermore, the positive outlook dimension and the self-awareness dimension of authenticity have a positive impact on the respondent's perception of their ideal life. In addition to adding to the scholarly literature on gay and lesbians, the study provides insights into understanding factors impacting the disclosure of outness in the workplace. This understanding should be of interest to managers and scholars concerned with developing inclusive workplace policies, improving workplace circumstances for all minorities, and accelerating the move towards greater workplace diversity.

Committee: Richard Boyatzis, Ph.D. (Advisor) Subjects: Gender; Glbt Studies

Master of Arts, Miami University, 2019, Psychology

Bisexual women are at an elevated risk to experience sexual victimization compared to heterosexual and lesbian women. However, there is a dearth of research that examines bisexual women's experiences specifically in order to identify factors that contribute to this increased risk. The current study examined how bisexual women's unique experiences of sexual identity stigma might elevate their risk for verbal sexual coercion. Online survey data were collected from 350 self-identified bisexual women. The PROCESS macro was used to test moderation-mediation and mediation analyses. Results suggest that anti-bisexual experiences (coming from both heterosexual and lesbian/gay individuals) are associated with greater internalized heterosexism (internalizing of societal negative attitudes and stereotypes about one's sexual orientation identity), which in turn is associated with greater verbal sexual coercion severity. We did not find moderating effects of outness (the degree to which bisexual women disclose their sexual orientation identity), such that internalized heterosexism mediated the relation between anti-bisexual experiences and verbal sexual coercion regardless of bisexual women's levels of outness. Findings suggest that both enacted and internalized anti-bisexual stigma are associated with bisexual women's elevated risk for experiencing verbal sexual coercion. Implications for future sexual violence prevention efforts, clinical intervention, and future research will be discussed.

Committee: Terri Messman-Moore PhD (Advisor); Elise Clerkin PhD (Committee Member); Elizabeth Kiel PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology

Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), Bowling Green State University, 2016, Psychology/Clinical

The minority stress model (Meyer, 1995, 2003) may explain the higher rates of substance use found in some lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer and questioning (LGBQ) individuals compared to non-LGBQ individuals. Guided by the model and previous research, I examined whether outness about one's sexual orientation and attachment to family of origin moderated the relationship between minority stress and substance use in LGBQ adults. To evaluate my hypotheses, I recruited two samples of LGBQ participants, one using social media (N=341) and another using a classified ad website (N=180), to answer questions about their drug and alcohol use, level of outness, experiences of minority stress, and attachment to family of origin. As predicted, higher levels of minority stress were significantly, albeit weakly, correlated with higher rates of substance use. However, contrary to expectations, stronger family attachment and higher level of outness were not associated with lower substance use in either sample. Instead, participants who reported higher levels of outness were more likely to report problem drug use. Because reported substance use was considerably lower than I expected in both samples, my study may not have provided a sensitive test of the hypotheses. The results could indicate that rates of substance use by LGBQ individuals are declining, and failed to support the hypothesis that strong family attachment is associated with lower rates of substance use in LGBQ adults.Further research should evaluate how LGBQ people mitigate minority stress other than by self medicating with alcohol and drug use.

Committee: Carolyn Tompsett Ph.D. (Advisor); Harold Rosenberg Ph.D. (Advisor); Michael Zickar Ph.D. (Committee Member); Francisco Cabanillas Ph.D. (Other) Subjects: Clinical Psychology; Psychology

Master of Gerontological Studies, Miami University, 2007, Gerontology

Despite that the benefits afforded to lesbian/bisexual women through connection to a wider lesbian/bisexual community are well documented, what happens when this community is a residential community has received little attention. Thus, the purpose of this research was to document the characteristics and experiences of mature lesbian/bisexual women who reside in a gated women's community. A survey was administered to full- and part-time residents to obtain information on characteristics of their families of origin, children and families of choice, degree of outness, and perceived advantages and disadvantages of residing and vacationing in a women's community (N=94). Findings reveal diversity in participants' family forms and relationships and their degrees of outness across different types of individuals. Further, findings suggest the importance of this community in providing avenues for identity expression, friendship and a sense of security in a supportive environment, despite inevitable conflict that inherently comes with sharing any confined space.

Committee: Jennifer Kinney (Advisor) Subjects: Gerontology