Alcohol use among sexual minority women: Methods used and lessons learned in the 20-Year Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Study

Abstract

Background: Two decades ago, there was almost no research on alcohol use among sexual minority women (SMW, e.g., lesbian, bisexual). Since then, a growing body of scientific literature documents substantial sexual orientation-related disparities in alcohol use and alcohol-related problems. Research has identified multiple risk factors associated with high-risk/hazardous drinking among SMW. However, this research has almost exclusively used cross-sectional designs, limiting the ability to draw conclusions about processes through which sexual minority status affects alcohol use. Longitudinal designs, although very rare in research on alcohol use among SMW, are important for testing mediational mechanisms and necessary to understanding how changes in social determinants impact alcohol use.
 Aim: To describe the processes and lessons learned in conducting a 20-year longitudinal study focused on alcohol use among SMW.
 Methods: The Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study includes five waves of data collection (2000–present) with an age and racially/ethnically diverse sample of 815 SMW (ages 18–83) originally recruited in the Chicago Metropolitan Area in Illinois, a midwestern state in the United States (U.S.). Measures and focus have evolved over the course of the study.
 Results: The CHLEW study is the longest-running and most comprehensive study of SMW’s drinking in the U.S. or elsewhere. Findings reported in more than 50 published manuscripts have contributed to understanding variations in SMW’s risk for hazardous/harmful drinking based on sexual identity, age, race/ethnicity, sex/gender of partner, and many other factors.
 Conclusions: By describing the process used in conducting this long-term study, its major findings, and the lessons learned, we hope to encourage and support other researchers in conducting longitudinal research focused on SMW’s health. Such research is critically important in understanding and ultimately eliminating sexual orientation-related health disparities.

Alcohol use, behavioral and mental health help‐seeking, and treatment satisfaction among sexual minority women

“…Consistent with our prior research, women who identified as mostly heterosexual, only heterosexual, or other were also excluded from analyses, leaving a final sample of 695. Data were collected using computer‐assisted in‐person or telephone interviews (Hughes et al, 2021). The Institutional Review Board of the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) approved study procedures.…”

“…Data are from Wave 3 of the Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women (CHLEW) study (see Hughes et al, 2021 for more details), a community‐based, 21‐year, five‐wave longitudinal study of SMW aged 18 and older. Wave 3 data were collected in 2010 to 2012 ( N = 353 women were retained [response rate = 79%] from the original cohort).…”

The Chicago Health and Life Experiences of Women Couples Study: Protocol for a Study of Stress, Hazardous Drinking, and Intimate Partner Aggression Among Sexual Minority Women and Their Partners

“…The procedures for each wave have been reviewed and approved by the institutional review board of the university where the principal investigator (TLH) held her primary appointment (waves 1-5 by the University of Illinois at Chicago; waves 4 and 5 and this study by Columbia University). Detailed information about the CHLEW study methods can be found elsewhere [ 58 , 59 ].…”

“…Other retention strategies included birthday and holiday cards, reminder calls before interview appointments, and graduated monetary incentives—from US $35 in wave 1 to US $80 in this study (US $40 for the telephone interview, US $20 for the web-based self-administered survey, and US $20 if the participant and their partner can be interviewed within 7 days of each other). Of the 820 participants enrolled in CHLEW (as of the writing of the grant application for this study), 49 (6.0%) were deceased, dropped out of the study, or were unable to participate for health reasons, leaving a sample size of 771 (94.0%) [ 59 ].…”

Associations of adult roles and minority stressors with trajectories of alcohol dependence symptoms throughout adulthood among sexual minority women.

“…Data collection began in 2000 with 447 English-speaking women, Ages 18 and older, who self-identified as only or mostly lesbian or bisexual at baseline. Data collection for Wave 2 occurred in 2004-2005 and Wave 3 in 2010-2012 (see Hughes et al, 2021, for a comprehensive review of methods). The study was approved by the human subjects board at the university of the primary investigator.…”