Multidimensional and Intersectional Gender Identity and Sexual Attraction Patterns of Adolescents for Quantitative Research

Implications for cisgender female underrepresentation, small sample sizes, and misgendering in sport and exercise science research

A sex-data gap, from testing primarily males, results in a lack of scientific knowledge for other groups (females, transgender individuals). It is unknown whether typical recruitment and participant characterization causes incorrect statistical decisions, and three factors were evaluated: 1) underrepresenting cisgender females, 2) recruiting small sample sizes, 3) misgendering. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-2004) were evaluated for sex differences after removing missing values (N = 3,645; F = 1,763). Disparities were determined by utilizing sample sizes common in sport and exercise science research; mean sample size N = 187, median sample size N = 20. Participants were randomly allocated into datasets in an imbalanced manner (33.5% females, 66.5% males). Potential effects of misgendering were determined at rates of 2% and 5%. Differences between the complete data set and expected decisions were conducted through Chi-squared (χ2) goodness of fit with significance at p < .05. When the entire dataset was evaluated as if a sex testing disparity was present, decisions were not altered (χ2 = .52, p = .47). Differences were observed for mean sample size (χ2 = 4.89, p = .027), median sample size (χ2 = 13.52, p < .001), and misgendering at 2% (χ2 = 13.52, p = < .001) and 5% (χ2 = 13.52, p = < .001). Recruitment practices in sport and exercise science research should be revisited, as testing primarily cisgender males has consequences, particularly in small sample sizes. Misgendering participants also has consequences on ultimate decisions and interpretations of data, regardless of sample size. Inclusiveness is needed in helping all individuals feel valued and respected when participating in sport and exercise science research.

Peer Status as a Potential Risk or Protective Factor: A Latent Profile Analysis on Peer Status and Its Association with Internalizing Symptoms in Adolescents with and without Parental Physical Abuse Experience

Research has well established that parental physical abuse experiences can lead to devastating consequences for adolescents, with peer relationships acting as both protective and risk factors. With the person-centered latent profile analysis (LPA), we analyzed questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study in 2020 composed of a sample of 1959 seventh-grade high school students from Switzerland. This study investigated and compared peer-status profiles combining peer acceptance and peer popularity for adolescents with and without parental physical abuse experiences. We conducted a multinomial logistic regression analysis to investigate further depression, anxiety, and dissociation as predictors of profile membership. With LPA, we identified three distinct profiles for adolescents within the subgroup with experiences of parental physical abuse (n = 344), namely liked, liked-popular, and rejected-unpopular. Within the subgroup of adolescents without parental physical abuse experiences (n = 1565), LPA revealed four profiles, namely liked, liked-popular, rejected-unpopular, and average. For adolescents with parental physical abuse experiences, higher levels of dissociation significantly indicated they were more likely to belong to the rejected-unpopular group than belong to the liked group. Anxious students without experiences of parental physical abuse were more likely to belong to the rejected-unpopular and liked profiles than belong to the liked-popular and average profiles. These findings clearly argue for a deeper understanding of the role of parental physical abuse when analyzing the relationship between dissociation and anxiety and peer status. Operationalizing peer status with the four individual dimensions of likeability, rejection, popularity, and unpopularity was valuable in that the role of peer rejection with respect to different internalizing symptoms became apparent.

Thriving despite Parental Physical Abuse in Adolescence: A Two-Wave Latent Transition Analysis on Hedonic and Eudaimonic Violence-Resilience Outcome Indicators

Internationally, about 25% of all children experience physical abuse by their parents. Despite the numerous odds against them, about 30% of adolescents who have experienced even the most serious forms of physical abuse by their parents escape the vicious family violence cycle. In this study, we analyzed longitudinally the data from a sample of N = 1767 seventh-grade high school students in Switzerland on physical abuse by their parents. We did this by conducting an online questionnaire twice within the school year. We found that in our sample, about 30% of the participating adolescents’ parents had physically abused them. We considered violence resilience a multi-systemic construct that included the absence of psychopathology on one hand and both forms of well-being (psychological and subjective) on the other. Our latent construct included both feeling good (hedonic indicators, such as high levels of self-esteem and low levels of depression/anxiety and dissociation) and doing well (eudaimonic indicators, such as high levels of self-determination and self-efficacy as well as low levels of aggression toward peers). By applying a person-oriented analytical approach via latent transition analysis with a sub-sample of students who experienced physical abuse (n_w2 = 523), we identified and compared longitudinally four distinct violence-resilience patterns and their respective trajectories. By applying to the field of resilience, one of the most compelling insights of well-being research (Deci & Ryan, 2001), we identified violence resilience as a complex, multidimensional latent construct that concerns hedonic and eudaimonic well-being and is not solely based on terms of psychopathology.

Internalizing and Externalizing Symptoms in Adolescents With and Without Experiences of Physical Parental Violence, a Latent Profile Analysis on Violence Resilience

Questionnaire data from a cross-sectional study on social resilience in adolescence, with a sample of N = 1,974 Swiss seventh grade high school students ages 12-14 (M = 11.76; SD = 0.65) was used to identify and compare violence resilience profiles. Person-centered latent profile analysis (LPA) was applied and allowed for the grouping of adolescents into profiles of internalizing (depression/anxiety, dissociation) and externalizing symptoms (peer aggression, peer victimization, classroom disruption) and differentiation of adolescents with (n = 403) and without (n = 1,571) physical parental violence experiences. Subsequently, a multinomial logistic regression analysis was conducted to further investigate the sociodemographic predictors of violence resilience profiles. With LPA, we identified four distinct profiles for both adolescent groups (with and without parental physical violence experiences). The results showed three particularly burdened profiles of adolescents, one with higher externalizing and one with higher internalizing symptoms, which did not occur simultaneously to the same extent. Furthermore, the third profile contained adolescents with both elevated internalizing and externalizing symptoms, the comorbid profile. The fourth profile consisted of the majority of adolescents, who exhibited little or no internalizing and externalizing symptoms, the so-called no/low symptomatic profile. A differentiated view of the symptoms can create added value regarding the understanding of violence resilience. Moreover, in the multinomial logistic regression, significant associations were found between the profiles and adolescents' gender in the group of adolescents with parental physical violence experiences, but none were found in relation to sociocultural status and migration background.