Thesis Defense: Sexual and Gender Minority Identity Acceptance and the Role of Florida Legislation Perception on Medical Disclosure and Risky Health Behaviors

Announcing the Final Examination of Ms. Aubrianna L. Stuckey for the degree of Masters of Arts of Clinical Psychology

The study analyzed a conceptual model looking at the relationship between Sexual and Gender Minority (SGM) identity, Florida SGM legislation perception, fear of identity disclsoure, and social support on four separate outcomes of risky health behaviors with multiple regression analyses. The sample consisted of 425 university students. SGM identity was found to be a significant predictor of fear of identity disclosure. Legislation perception significantly moderated this relationship. Fear of identity disclosure mediated the relationship between SGM identity and negative coping , and social support significantly moderated this mediated relationship. Further results and their implications will be discussed.