Are Sexual Minorities Hard-to-Survey? Insights from the 2020 Census Barriers, Attitudes, and Motivators Study (CBAMS) Survey

Abstract

As a stigmatized and vulnerable population, sexual minorities are often assumed to also be a hard-to-survey population. Despite this implicit assumption, there is little empirical evidence on the topic. Using a nationally representative survey that included sexual orientation (the Census Barriers, Attitudes, and Motivators Survey), we examine level of effort, the Census Bureau’s Low Response Score (LRS), and stated intent to respond to the 2020 Census as proxy measures to explore this assumption. We found no evidence that sexual minorities required higher levels of effort to secure participation in the survey. Additionally, we found that compared to straight respondents, lesbians, gays, and bisexuals had a higher intent to respond to the 2020 Census. We surmise the current social climate in the United States may be a contributing factor to these findings.

Survey Estimates of Sexual Orientation in the United States

“…For example, Meyer and colleagues (2002) conducted a study that found that women would respond to an anonymous random‐digit‐dial telephone health survey asking a series of questions that included sexual orientation identity and sexual attraction. More recent studies of feasibility provide further evidence that respondents in population‐based surveys and health care settings are willing and able to respond to questions about sexual orientation identity (Bates et al., 2019; Ellis et al., 2018; Lee et al., 2018; Rullo et al., 2019). Several of these studies noted that while there are subsets of respondents who find the questions about sexual orientation sensitive, such concerns are not limited to the construct of sexual orientation: for example, questions about disability status were also reported as potentially sensitive and yet feasible to collect.…”

Connecting and linking neurocognitive, digital phenotyping, physiologic, psychophysical, neuroimaging, genomic, & sensor data with survey data

“…ED = emergency department (i.e., baseline data); W = Weekly data; and M = Monthly data. 1 Subsample of participants via adaptive sampling. The approach taken balances all factors to ensure linkage across the various data streams and the prospective nature of data collection.…”

“…Health survey data collection is becoming more complex as researchers demand baseline survey items and other elements like adaptive sampling, continuous physiologic monitoring via wearable technologies, continuous passive digital phenotyping, flash surveys/audio recordings, and genomic data collection. At the same time, response rates are declining while concerns about privacy are growing [ 1 – 3 ]. These forces are all at play in the collection of data from emergency department (ED) trauma patients.…”

Best Practices for Collecting Gender and Sex Data

“…Many other reputable resources elaborate upon these terms and present more terminology than we do, e.g. Bates et al [2019]; Bauer et al [2019]; and Badgett and Team [2009]. For additional resources, see Appendix A.…”