Gender minoritized students and academic engagement in Brazilian adolescents: Risk and protective factors

Engagement and loyalty in mobile applications for restaurant home deliveries

This study examines user engagement and loyalty in mobile applications for restaurant home deliveries during the COVID-19 pandemic. It explores the concepts of loyalty, engagement, and interactivity, with convenience and safety as drivers for continued use. Using Partial Least Squares Structural Equations Modelling (PLS-SEM), data from 349 users of restaurant ordering apps in Colombia was analysed. Results indicate that engagement, convenience, and safety positively influence loyalty. Interactivity indirectly affects loyalty through engagement. This research sheds light on the factors impacting engagement and loyalty, specifically during the pandemic. It addresses underexplored marketing relationships and guides companies operating such apps to understand key drivers of user loyalty.

A scoping review of survey research with gender minority adolescents and youth in low and middle-income countries

BACKGROUND

Survey data that categorizes gender identity in binary terms and conflates sex and gender limits knowledge around the experience of gender minority populations, whose gender identity or expression does not align with the sex they were assigned at birth. In this review, we outline the existing survey research on the experience of a gender minority demographic for whom there is particularly limited data: adolescents and youth in low and middle-income countries (LMICs).

METHODS

This paper is a scoping review of peer-reviewed articles, published in English, that use survey data to examine the experience of gender minority adolescents and youth in LMICs. We conducted a search on two major databases using key terms related to gender identity, adolescence and youth, and country and region. This search yielded 385 articles. Following a team-conducted review, we retained 33 articles for the final analysis.

RESULTS

Our review shows that surveys with adolescents and youth in LMICs are increasingly including questions and taking sampling approaches that allow gender minority populations to be visible in survey data. Surveys that do so are largely focused in upper middle-income countries (n = 24), rather than lower middle-income or low-income countries, with South East Asia a notable sub-region of focus (n = 15). Sexual health, mental health, and violence are key topics of interest. Most of the surveys rely on some form of network-driven sampling focused on sexual and/or gender minorities (n = 22). The studies vary in how they ask about gender identity, both in terms of question formulation and the answer categories that are offered, as well as the extent to which they describe the questions in the article text.

CONCLUSIONS

This review reveals a growing body of work that provides important insights into the experiences of gender minority adolescents and youth in LMICs. More studies could integrate these approaches, but it must be done in a way that is thoughtful about cultural and political context. Given the relatively nascent nature of such research, we encourage scholars to continue providing details on methodology, including around participant recruitment and the development of gender identity questions. This information would be valuable for researchers seeking to better include gender minorities and their experiences in survey research, but who might be daunted methodologically.

Examining the relationship between perceived teacher support and students' academic engagement in foreign language learning: Enjoyment and boredom as mediators

As an important contextual factor influencing various aspects of students' learning, teacher support has been widely explored in general education but largely overlooked in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) context. Given its potential positive role in students' academic performance, the present study intended to investigate the relationship between perceived teacher support, enjoyment, boredom, and academic engagement in the EFL context. In so doing, 1094 Chinese high school students were recruited to complete the online questionnaire of the four variables. SPSS and PROCESS macro were used for descriptive, correlational, and mediation analyses. The results showed that students had moderate levels of perceived teacher support, enjoyment, and academic engagement and a low level of boredom. Further correlation analyses indicated medium to large correlations between perceived teacher support, enjoyment, boredom, and academic engagement. Enjoyment and boredom collectively mediated the relationship between perceived teacher support and academic engagement. Directions for future research and implications for researchers and educators are presented at the end.

The Body Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents: Translation, adaptation and psychometric validation among Brazilian adolescents

A lack of rigorously validated body image measures for use among adolescents is hampering research in Brazil. This study aimed to validate a Brazilian Portuguese version of the Body Esteem Scale for Adults and Adolescents (BESAA; Mendelson et al., 2001). The BESAA was forward and back translated from English into Brazilian Portuguese before examining its factor structure, reliability, and validity among 475 adolescents (50.3% girls) aged 13 - 18 years (M_age = 15.35) from various regions across Brazil. Exploratory factor analysis identified an 18-item three-factor solution, with Appearance-Positive, Appearance-Negative, and Weight subscales. The removal of five problematic items led to a psychometrically robust model, invariant across gender and age, and was verified using confirmatory factor analysis. Test re-test reliability and internal consistency were good-to-excellent across all three factors (Cronbach's a =0.85,.88, and.89). Concurrent validity was established through significant correlations with body dissatisfaction. Convergent validity was demonstrated via significant correlations with positive and negative affect. This Brazilian Portuguese version of the BESAA is a valid, reliable, and psychometrically robust measure of body image suitable for administration among adolescents in Brazil.

Proportion of ALGBT adult Brazilians, sociodemographic characteristics, and self-reported violence

Asexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and trans (ALGBT) individuals face worse life conditions and violence rates than their heterosexual cisgender counterparts. Brazil is often highlighted for having one of the highest rates of hate-related homicides against ALGBTs in the world. However, to date, Brazil's ALGBT population has not been investigated with a representative sample, and basic information such as population size or sociodemographic characteristics are mostly based in non-systematic data. We aimed to assess the proportion of asexual, lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and non-binary adults in Brazil, their sociodemographic characteristics, and self-reported violence rates. In 2018, a sample (n = 6000) of the Brazilian adult population answered a face-to-face survey assessing sociodemographic characteristics, gender identity, sexual orientation, and self-reported psychological, physical, verbal, and sexual violence. Among Brazilian adults, 12.04% are ALGBT: 5.76% asexual, 0.93% lesbian, 1.37% gay, 2.12% bisexual, 0.68 trans, and 1.18% non-binary. Compared to heterosexual cisgender men, most ALGBT individuals have worse socioeconomic indicators and higher rates of self-reported psychological and verbal violence. All ALGBT groups and heterosexual cisgender women reported sexual violence more often than heterosexual cisgender men. It was reported between 4 up to 25 times more often by heterosexual cisgender women and trans individuals, respectively. The rates of the other ALGBT groups sit among the two. Our findings provide evidence of the important size of the ALGBT Brazilian population, as well as their socioeconomic vulnerability, and concerning violence levels experienced by the group. Policy makers may refer to the present article in order to mitigate this population's vulnerability and to better understand its sociodemographic characteristics.

The roles of school in supporting LGBTQ+ youth: A systematic review and ecological framework for understanding risk for suicide-related thoughts and behaviors

The extant literature on suicide-related thoughts and behaviors (STB) has highlighted increased patterns of risk among specific minoritized populations, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning, intersex, two spirit, and queer (LGBTQ+) youth. Compared to their heterosexual and cisgender peers, LGBTQ+ youth are at increased risk for having STB. Identity-specific stressors such as homonegativity and anti-queerness are among the unique factors posited to contribute to this risk and inhibit factors that protect against suicide. The school setting has been a focal point for suicide prevention and intervention and may also play a key role in linking students to care; however, schools also hold the potential to provide supports and experiences that may buffer against risk factors for STB in LGBTQ+ students. This systematic literature review presents findings from 44 studies examining school-related correlates of STB in LGBTQ+ students, informing an ecological approach to suicide prevention for school settings. Findings underscore the importance of school context for preventing STB in LGBTQ+ youth. Approaches that prioritize safety and acceptance of LGBTQ+ youth should span multiple layers of a student's ecology, including district and state level policies and school programs and interventions, such as Gender and Sexuality Alliances and universal bullying prevention programs. Beyond their role as a primary access point for behavioral health services, schools offer a unique opportunity to support suicide prevention by combating minority stressors through promoting positive social relationships and a safe community for LGBTQ+ students.