# Characterizing Economic Determinants of Violence and Safety Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Diverse Populations

> **NIH NIH F31** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2024 · $48,974

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
Violence is a widespread public health problem, yet sexual and gender diverse (SGD) populations are
disproportionately impacted by multiple forms of violence, affecting feelings of safety and contributing to physical,
mental, and behavioral health disparities. SGD populations also experience disparities in poverty rates and
financial security as a result of structural vulnerability in employment, education, and wages. Strengthening
financial security is a promising violence prevention strategy that has not been examined for SGD populations.
This study will improve insights into financial security as a determinant of violence and safety and evaluate the
role of policy in shaping SGD violence disparities, informing the utility of violence prevention strategies promoting
financial security for SGD populations. To accomplish this, specific aims are to: 1) Examine the association
between household income and violence victimization rates and assess moderating effects of sexual and gender
identity; 2) Explore the role of financial security in feelings of safety; and 3) Evaluate state Earned Income Tax
Credit (EITC) expansions for their impact on SGD violence rates.
Aim 1 will utilize linear mixed effects models to assess the relationship between household income and violent
victimization rates by sexual and gender identity in a secondary analysis of National Crime Victimization Survey
(NCVS) data from 2017-2023. Aim 2 will leverage the data and infrastructure of an existing study conducting
lifeline interviews with 60 transgender, nonbinary, and gender diverse people in Baltimore City to qualitatively
explore the relationship between financial security and feelings of safety. Aim 3 will apply innovative policy
evaluation methods, including comparative interrupted time series designs and synthetic control modeling, to
examine the impact of state EITC expansions and state-level violent victimization rates among SGD populations
in 22 states using NCVS data. This multi-method study uniquely combines an in-depth exploration of financial
security as a mechanism by which societal factors lead to violence disparities with the investigation of an
actionable policy approach to advance health disparities science. This research will contribute to the evidence
base for upstream prevention strategies concerned with redistributing social and structural determinants of health
to alleviate disparities and promote SGD safety and well-being.
The proposed research will fulfill the dissertation and degree requirements for Ms. Kennedy, PhD student at the
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The training will be mentored by experts in SGD health
equity, policy evaluation, social science methods, and translational science with one Sponsor, one Co-sponsor,
and two Collaborators. The training plan outlines didactic coursework, trainings, and workshops, experiential
learning via research assistantships, mentored dissertation study, and other advanced t...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10997877
- **Project number:** 1F31MD019985-01
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Katrina Kennedy
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $48,974
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-08-03 → 2027-08-02

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10997877

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10997877, Characterizing Economic Determinants of Violence and Safety Disparities Among Sexual and Gender Diverse Populations (1F31MD019985-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-12 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10997877. Licensed CC0.

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