Project Mentor
Dr. Eva Lefkowitz
Department: Human Development & Family Sciences
Research Project Overview:
LGBTQ+ COVID-related RElationships and Well-being (CREW) Study: Compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers, LGBTQ+ youth are at increased risk of poor well-being outcomes such as anxiety, depression, stress, and substance use. For these youth, leaving their parents’ home to attend college may result in improved well-being. In the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBTQ+ college students who had to leave campus living arrangements to return to their family of origin may experience increased risks to their well-being if they are not out to their families, or if their families reject their sexual or gender identity. The extent to which the quality of their relationship with their parents affects their well-being likely varies by individual, interpersonal, and environmental factors. In Spring 2020, we collected data on the well-being and family, peer, and romantic relationships of over 400 LGBTQ+ college students from around the country. Dr. Lefkowitz and her students are currently examining what social factors are associated with LGBTQ+ college students’ well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic, what factors moderate these associations, and the role of social distancing practices in these students’ well-being using both quantitative and open-ended responses.
As part of this study, we asked participants to describe the ways in which the pandemic affected their ability to express their sexual and gender identity, and to describe the ways in which the affected their relationship with their parents.
Role of a SHARE Summer Apprentice:
The research apprentice would be involved in the coding of themes from the open-ended questions described above. That is, the apprentice would be reading participant responses about how the pandemic affected their gender and sexual identity, and their relationship with their parents, and helping identify and code themes in these responses. The research apprentice will also attend our weekly research team meeting where we discuss project activities more generally – the team meeting currently involves Dr. Lefkowitz, six doctoral students, and one undergraduate student.
By working on this project, the research apprentice will learn about how to code qualitative data; how to work on research generally; and, by attending regular research meetings, learn about a range of aspects of the research process.
The research apprentice will attend weekly large project meetings. The research apprentice will also have regular meetings with the team of coders working on this project, which will be a sub-set of the larger research team. There will also be the opportunity for the apprentice to stay involved with the project beyond summer if they were interested in being involved in participating in seeing the project to completion – for instance, helping to write it up to present at a conference.
Summer Schedule/Time Commitment:
There is some flexibility in hours, for instance, for vacations. However, in general, we expect the hours will be spread across the period of the apprenticeship.
Meetings will occur at a specific time each week, but the time will be determined based on the research team members, including the apprentice. There will also be independent hours that can be scheduled at the apprentice’s convenience.
Preferred Qualifications:
This project would work well for students who have some exposure to social science coursework at the introductory level, such as an introductory class in HDFS, Psychological Sciences, or Sociology. The apprentice does not need to have prior knowledge of LGBTQ+ populations, but should be open to understanding this population.
To Apply:
CLOSED – Click here to submit an online application for this research apprenticeship through the Quest Portal. The application deadline is Friday, March 26, 2021 at 11:59pm.
Click here to view an outline of the application questions. There are no additional questions specific to this apprenticeship application.