ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0002-4433-681X
Keywords
Sexual Gender Minority, LGBT, Legislation Perception, Disclosure, Health Behaviors, Florida
Abstract
Recently, across the United States, efforts have been made to remove protective legislation and resources surrounding the sexual gender minority (SGM) community (Woodford et al., 2018). Given how quickly Florida’s HB 1557 legislation was passed and the corresponding, ongoing attempts to expand the bills, there is limited research exploring the role of legislative change on SGM communities. Newer literature indicates that discriminatory laws or bills have impacted the mental health of the SGM community, especially among SGM adolescent and young adults ; however, research exploring the role legislation has on SGM individual’s physical health, requires further investigation(American Psychological Association, 2023; Noh, 2023; Novotney, 2023). This thesis examined the role that perception of the new legislation and SGM social support plays in SGM health behaviors and SGM identity disclosure. The sample (N= 425) consisted of young adults from a large, Florida, metropolitan university. SGM participants scored significantly higher than non-SGM participants in risk behavior engagement, risk behavior interference, and risk as negative coping behaviors. SGM identity significantly predicted fear of identity disclosure. Negative legislation perception was a significant moderator and predictor of fear of identity disclosure among SGM participants. Fear of disclosure fully mediated the relationship between SGM identity and risk as negative coping behaviors. Social support showed a significant, positive moderating effect between fear of identity disclosure and risk as negative coping behaviors. Further analyses and their implications are discussed.
Completion Date
2025
Semester
Spring
Committee Chair
Berman, Steven
Degree
Master of Arts (M.A.)
College
College of Sciences
Department
Psychology
Identifier
DP0029401
Document Type
Dissertation/Thesis
Campus Location
UCF Sanford/Lake Mary
STARS Citation
Stuckey, Aubrianna L., "Sexual and Gender Minority Identity Acceptance and the Role of Florida Legislation Perception on Medical Disclosure and Risky Health Behaviors" (2025). Graduate Thesis and Dissertation post-2024. 232.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/etd2024/232