College of the Holy CrossObjective: To identify scalable interventions for improving sexual minority mental health and health-risk behavior, this study tested the efficacy of two self-guided online writing interventions-expressive writing and self-affirmation. To reach sexual minority young adults living in high-stigma, low-resource settings, we developed and tested these interventions in Appalachian Tennessee. Method: In consultation with sexual minority young adults (n ϭ 10) and stakeholders (n ϭ 10) living in Appalachian Tennessee, we adapted these two writing interventions that we then delivered to 108 local sexual minority young adults (M age ϭ 23.68, SD ϭ 3.11). Participants, representing diverse sexual and gender identities and socioeconomic backgrounds, were randomly assigned to participate in a 3-session expressive writing intervention, self-affirmation intervention, or neutral control. Participants completed mental health and health-risk behavior measures at baseline, postintervention, and 3-month follow-up. Results: Compared to the neutral control, expressive writing exerted 3-month improvements in depressive symptoms (d ϭ 0.48) and general psychological distress (d ϭ 0.36) whereas self-affirmation exerted improvement in suicidal ideation (d ϭ 0.62) and drug abuse (d ϭ 0.59). Participants who were exposed to greater contextual minority stressors common in rural regions (i.e., discrimination and victimization) experienced significantly greater 3-month reductions in depression from expressive writing and self-affirmation compared to control. Those who experienced greater discrimination also experienced significantly greater 3-month reductions in suicidality from self-affirmation compared to control. Conclusion: Brief writing interventions exert significant impact on the mental health of young adult sexual minorities, especially those exposed to minority stress. Future research can consider strategies for population-level implementation, especially in high-stigma, low-resource settings. What is the public health significance of this article?This study responds to the pressing need for efficacious interventions to improve sexual minority young adult mental and behavioral health. We find evidence that two brief online writing interven-

Objective: To remedy the notable gap in evidence-based treatments for sexual minority women, this study tested the efficacy of a minority-stress-focused cognitive-behavioral treatment intended to improve this population's mental and behavioral health. Method: The intervention, EQuIP (Empowering Queer Identities in Psychotherapy), was adapted from a transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral treatment as also recently adapted for sexual minority men. Sexual minority women at risk of mental and behavioral health problems (n ϭ 19) and expert providers with this population (n ϭ 12) shaped the treatment's development, including by supporting its primary focus on universal and minority-stress-focused processes underlying this population's disproportionately poor mental and behavioral health. The resulting treatment was then delivered to young adult sexual minority women (n ϭ 60; M age ϭ 25.58; 41.67% racial/ethnic minority; 43.33% transgender/nonbinary) experiencing depression/anxiety and past 90-day heavy alcohol use. Results: Compared to waitlist (n ϭ 30), participants randomized to immediately receive EQuIP (n ϭ 30) experienced significantly reduced depression and anxiety (d ϭ 0.85, 0.86, respectively); effects for alcohol use problems were smaller (d ϭ 0.29) and marginally significant. In preto post-intervention pooled analyses, effect sizes for minority stress processes (mean d ϭ .25) and universal risk factors (mean d ϭ .48), through which the treatment was expected to work, were small and moderate, respectively, and in the expected direction. Conclusions: This study provides initial support for a minority-stress-focused transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral treatment for sexual minority women. These first results can launch exploration of other mechanisms and modalities through which to equip this population with evidence-based support. What is the public health significance of this article?Sexual minority women represent one of the highest-risk populations for depression, anxiety, and alcohol use problems, yet no intervention has been tested for efficacy for this population's cooccurring health risks. This first randomized trial of such a treatment shows that a transdiagnostic minority-stress-focused approach has potential to exert robust impact on sexual minority women's mental health. Future research into additional treatment targets, perhaps beyond minority stress, and factors relevant for reducing alcohol use problems, is needed.

Background Young gay and bisexual men disproportionately experience depression, anxiety, and substance use problems and are among the highest risk group for HIV infection in the U.S. Diverse methods locate the source of these health disparities in young gay and bisexual men’s exposure to minority stress. In fact, minority stress, psychiatric morbidity, substance use, and HIV risk fuel each other, forming a synergistic threat to young gay and bisexual men’s health. Yet no known intervention addresses minority stress to improve mental health, substance use problems, or their joint impact on HIV risk in this population. This paper describes the design of a study to test the efficacy of such an intervention, called ESTEEM (Effective Skills to Empower Effective Men), a 10-session skills-building intervention designed to reduce young gay and bisexual men’s co-occurring health risks by addressing the underlying cognitive, affective, and behavioral pathways through which minority stress impairs health. Methods This study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, is a three-arm randomized controlled trial to examine (1) the efficacy of ESTEEM compared to community mental health treatment and HIV counseling and testing and (2) whether ESTEEM works through its hypothesized cognitive, affective, and behavioral minority stress processes. Our primary outcome, measured 8 months after baseline, is condomless anal sex in the absence of PrEP or known undetectable viral load of HIV+ primary partners. Secondary outcomes include depression, anxiety, substance use, sexual compulsivity, and PrEP uptake, also measured 8 months after baseline. Discussion Delivering specific stand-alone treatments for specific mental, behavioral, and sexual health problems represents the current state of evidence-based practice. However, dissemination and implementation of this one treatment-one problem approach has not been ideal. A single intervention that reduces young gay and bisexual men’s depression, anxiety, substance use, and HIV risk by reducing the common minority stress pathways across these problems would represent an efficient, cost-effective alternative to currently isolated approaches, and holds great promise for reducing sexual orientation health disparities among young men. Trial registration Registered October 10, 2016 to ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02929069 .

Objective: Effective Skills to Empower Effective Men (ESTEEM) represents the first intervention to address the psychological pathways through which minority stress undermines young sexual minority men’s (SMM’s) mental and sexual health using transdiagnostic cognitive-behavioral therapy. This study compared the efficacy of ESTEEM against two existing interventions. Method: Participants were young HIV-negative SMM (N = 254; ages = 18–35; 67.2% racial/ethnic minority) experiencing a depression, anxiety, and/or stress-/trauma-related disorder and past-90-day HIV transmission risk behavior. After completing HIV testing and counseling, participants were randomized to receive 10-session ESTEEM (n = 100); 10-session community-based LGBQ-affirmative counseling (n = 102); or only HIV testing and counseling (n = 52). Results: For the primary outcome of any HIV transmission risk behavior at 8 months, ESTEEM was not significantly associated with greater reduction compared to HIV testing and counseling (risk ratio [RR] = 0.89, p = .52). Supportive analyses of the frequency of HIV transmission risk behavior at 8 months showed a nonsignificant difference between ESTEEM compared to HIV testing and counseling (RR = 0.69) and LGBQ-affirmative counseling (RR = 0.62). For secondary outcomes (e.g., depression, anxiety, substance use, suicidality, number of mental health diagnoses) at 8 months, ESTEEM had a larger effect size than the two comparison conditions, but these comparisons did not reach statistical significance when adjusting for the false discovery rate. Observed effect sizes for condition comparisons were smaller than the effect sizes used to power the study. In exploratory analyses, ESTEEM showed promise for reducing comorbidity. Conclusions: Because the control conditions were associated with stronger effects than anticipated, and given the heterogeneous nature of transdiagnostic outcomes, the study possessed insufficient power to statistically detect the consistently small-to-moderate benefit of ESTEEM compared to the two control conditions.

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