The How and Why
The Studying Policies’ Effects on Communities: Trends in Resilience and Undergraduate Mental Health (SPECTRUM) Study aims to elucidate the impacts of LGBT-targeted state level policies on the mental health of young adults ages 18-24. The study takes a multi-method approach, utilizing national survey data and data from in-depth qualitative interviews, to investigate the impacts of four types of LGBT-targeted policies: 1) religious exemptions, 2) gender-affirming healthcare bans, 3) LGBT-restrictive school curricula, and 4) LGBT-supportive school curricula.
PI: Brittany Charlton; CO-Is: Gordon, Nelson, & Lipson
Study staff: Julia Reedy, Jacq Sauer, Elle Neunzig, Agus Vega
This work is facilitated by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (R61HD117134).
Selected Papers
Lipson, S. K., McKetta, S., Voichoski, E., Gordon, A. R., Subedi, S., Hicks, A., … Charlton, B. M. (2026). LGBTQ+ College Students’ Exposure to Discrimination and Relationships to Mental Health and Healthcare Utilization: Findings from a National Survey. Behavioral Medicine, 52(3–4), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1080/08964289.2026.2633344