The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #58568

Bianca D.M. Wilson, MA, Psychology Department, University of Illinois at Chicago, 1007 W. Harrison St. (M/C 285), Chicago, IL 60607, 312-996-7706, biancaw@uic.edu

The current study sought to create a measure of sexual health that was ecologically valid and culturally grounded in the lives and experiences of African American lesbians as a means of filling a gap in sexual health service and research among this group. Historically, the sexual health concerns of lesbians, particularly African American lesbians, have not been addressed in research and practice. As such, little is understood about how the intersections of multiple minority statuses and cultural referent groups impact the development of sexually healthy attitudes and behaviors. The perspective from which this assessment tool is being developed emphasizes that sexual health is more than the absence of sexually transmitted diseases and must be understood in a group’s experiential and cultural context. The focus of this symposium will be on the process of exploratory research to determine key issues of sexual health for African American lesbians, such as body image, gender role terminology, and cultural scripts that informed the development of the assessment tool.

Learning Objectives:

• Participants of this session will learn important sexual health issues grounded in the lives of African American lesbians and additionally acquire tools to translate this process to future research on understanding culturally specific aspects of sexuality among other groups.

Keywords: Culture, Lesbian Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.