# Identifying, refining, and testing sexual orientation and gender identity measures to detect and delineate sexual and gender minority populations for population research

> **NIH NIH R21** · STANFORD UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $210,234

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Reliable and efficient methods of measuring sexual and gender minority (SGM) status, that are acceptable
to both SGM and non-SGM people, are needed so that researchers can more accurately capture and better
understand the health of SGM individuals. Current measures are limited in how they operationalize assessment
of the many constitutive domains of sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI), the diversity of answer
choices, and in accounting for changes in SOGI domains over one’s life. Further, the sexual orientation domains
(i.e., attraction, identity, behavior) and gender domains (i.e., gender identity, gender expression) evaluated often
result in wide variation in SGM population estimates, discrepancies in health risk factors, experiences, and
outcomes.
 To more accurately identify SGM people, measures must ultimately be intelligible and acceptable to the entire
population. The importance of this was underscored after the 2010 Census, where mismarks on the sex question
by opposite-sex couples led to inflated estimates of same-sex households. Until well tested, reliable, and
community-acceptable measures are developed, SGM individuals will continue to be underrepresented and
understudied in research. Non-SGM individuals will also continue to be miss-measured and overburdened.
 In this proposal, a mixed methods approach for developing and describing the performance characteristics
of a reliable, low-burden, community acceptable SGM status screening question is outlined. Leveraging two
large national cohorts, response accuracy within this strategy as well as participant understanding and
acceptability will be measured through iterative quantitative testing among both SGM and non-SGM individuals.
The overall hypothesis is that using a screener question of SGM status followed by more specific follow-up
testing with expanded answer choices for SGM individuals will decrease survey burden for non-SGM people
while also allowing SGM people to be identified and affirmed. First, a broadly acceptable SGM screening
question will be developed and piloted using cognitive interviews and online pilot testing. The best performing
screening question will then be compared head-to-head with simultaneous administration of two set of SOGI
measures. Finally, the SGM status screening question and existing confirmatory SOGI measures’ stability and
acceptability over time will be analyzed to evaluate performance characteristics and demographic differences in
answer choice patterns.
 Accurate identification and inclusive data collection are critical to improving outcomes and reducing
disparities. In summary, the proposed research will develop a high-performing, efficient strategy for identifying
SGM people.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10263276
- **Project number:** 5R21MD015878-02
- **Recipient organization:** STANFORD UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Juno Obedin-Maliver
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $210,234
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-09-14 → 2023-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10263276

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10263276, Identifying, refining, and testing sexual orientation and gender identity measures to detect and delineate sexual and gender minority populations for population research (5R21MD015878-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10263276. Licensed CC0.

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