Current Projects 

Stigma-reduction through Education, Empowerment, and Research (SEERs) Tampa Bay:  

The current formative study is funded by the Southern AIDS Coalition and applies a modified version of the ADAPT-ITT model to catalog and contextualize intersectional stigma, neighborhood stressors, and resilience-enhancing resources available to Black and Hispanic same gender loving men in Tampa Bay, Florida. SEERs was originally developed in Nakuru, Kenya (link to RYC site) for youth ages 13-24 to increase HIV knowledge and decrease HIV-related stigma. In the current study, we aim to begin the cultural adaptation of SEERs to meet the needs of Black and/or Latin same-gender-loving men living in Tampa Bay, Florida using qualitative and mixed-methods inquiry. 

Eligibility: The study is open to Black and/or Latin same gender loving men including those who identify as gay, queer, bisexual, and/or gender non-confirming) who have experienced stigma. OR anyone between ages 18-65 who has witnessed stigma while living in Tampa Bay, Florida towards someone who was or believed to be Black and/or Hispanic and same gender loving 

For more information: https://sites.google.com/view/seers-tampa-bay

Ending Racism to End HIV: 

A Qualitative Pilot Study to Examine the Impact of Racism and Intersectional Stigmatizing Identities on Black Adolescents Living with HIV in Tampa Bay. Guided by the Stigma and HIV Disparities Model, which identifies the fundamental processes in the relationship between societal stigma and HIV disparities. The purpose of this project is to assess anti-Black racism and resulting HIV health disparities among Black adolescents through the lens of intersectionality. Building upon a larger project, this study involves an in-depth assessment of intersectional stigmatizing identities, neighborhood context, and resilience impacting Black adolescents living with HIV, including those who identify as transgender and/or who identify as gay, bisexual, same-gender-loving, or men who have sex with men, as well as their families. Using focus group discussions and in-depth interviews with Black adolescents living with HIV and their parents, this study will (a) apply a phenomenological approach to explore intersectional stigma and stressors among Black adolescents living with HIV; (b) assess the coping mechanisms and resilience among Black adolescents living with HIV who experience multiple stigmatized identities, and (c) determine the interests, characteristics, and stigma-reduction needs of Black adolescents living with HIV in the Tampa Bay region to refine, improve, and culturally adapt an existing HIV stigma intervention (the SEERs program) local policies affecting HIV treatment for Black adolescents. This project is funded through the USF Research Task Force on Understanding and Addressing Blackness and Anti-Black Racism in our Local, National, and International Communities. 

Eligibility: The study is open to Black teens living with HIV ages 13-17 and their caregivers/parents residing in the Tampa Bay area. Email Dr. Gabbidon at kgabbido@usf.edu to participate or regarding any inquiries.

Past Projects

Parent-Teen Study: 

Youth ages 15-24 currently experience a disproportionate burden of STIs (including HIV) and are at high risk for unplanned pregnancy. Despite the high risk, youth in Florida do not receive comprehensive sex education as part of their academic curriculum. Rather, the material focuses on abstinence and uses fear-based strategies to spread its message. Youth often receive sex information from various sources including the internet, other media sources, parents, community members, and peers. Research shows that parents are one of the earliest and most crucial sexual socializing agents in adolescents’ sexuality. Therefore, this study will investigate parents’ and teens’ experiences with monitoring, connectedness, and communication and determine the acceptability of an intervention to improve parental monitoring, connectedness, and sex conversations between adolescents and their parents in an effort to encourage healthy adolescent sexual development. 

Related Publications 

HIV Disclosure: 

We conducted a global systematic review in accordance with the 2015 Preferred Items for Reporting Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis tool to assess HIV self-disclosure among youth ages 13-24. In our initial search, we identified 5881 articles. After examining articles in greater detail, 33 studies were included in the synthesis. The Disclosure Process Model was used to highlight antecedent goals to self-disclosure. Self-disclosure was associated with negative emotional outcomes and improved medication adherence, but there was a combination of results related to sexual behaviors. We discuss implications for practice and future directions for research are presented. 

Current Projects

Precarious Manhood Theory in Heterosexual, Cisgender Men, and Queer Men

Serena is conducting semi-structured interviews on young men ages 18-24 and analyzing their responses using thematic analysis rooted in descriptive phenomenology. Participants discuss what manhood is, how manhood is achieved and maintained, how their definition of manhood fits with society’s definition, how a man’s sexual orientation and/or gender identity impacts their idea of manhood, and how others’ perception of their manhood impacts their self-identification as a man. The findings from this study may have implications for clinicians with diverse male patients and advocacy efforts for sexual and gender minorities.

Past Projects

Recommendations for queer multiracial families to navigate racialized social systems

Bharat is working on a paper that offers recommendations for queer multiracial families to support their multiracial children’s identity development, help manage systematic oppression, and create a shared family identity that can promote healthy developmental trajectories. By using frameworks based on critical race theory, such as ParentCrit and MultiCrit, along with queer socialization, the goal of the paper is to highlight the needs and solutions for queer multiracial families that are rendered invisible within intersectionality literature. This may offer greater visibility and understanding of queer multiracial families, who represent the future of American families.

Systematic Review of Community-based Reentry and Diversion Interventions in Youth Justice: Resiliency, Recidivism, and Program Outcomes

Amanda's project utilizes the PRISMA method to investigate the literature on how community-based aftercare/reentry interventions and diversion programs target young offenders and impact reoffending and life outcomes. These programs focus on the rehabilitation of offenders by providing participant opportunities to boost pro-social skills, emotional regulation, productive learning, and potentially provide psychological interventions (e.g., rehab, depression management, etc).