Tuned In!: 12-month longitudinal outcomes of an affirmative mindfulness intervention for sexual and gender diverse youth and young adults.

PURPOSE: Sexual and gender diverse youth and young adults (SGDY) face mental health disparities due to anti-LGBTQIA+ discrimination and minority stressors. Despite increasing research on youth mental health interventions, culturally responsive approaches for SGDY are scarce. This study addresses this gap by assessing the mental health impact of an SGDY-specific trauma-informed affirmative mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), Tuned In!, which was co-developed with SGDY through community-based participatory methods, and designed to support their mental health needs.

METHODS

Fifty-two SGDY (aged 16-29) participated in the intervention; 44 completed all assessments across four time points (baseline, post-intervention, 6-month, and 12-month follow-up). Two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) analyses were conducted to assess intervention effects, treating the intercept and slope as random effects.

RESULTS

Significant improvements were observed for all mental health outcomes, except for the BSI-Somatization subscale and the BSI-Hostility subscale. Depression (Beck Depression Inventory) and anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory) significantly decreased, along with overall psychological distress (Brief Symptom Inventory) and several subscales, including obsession-compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, paranoid ideation, and psychoticism. Mindfulness, self-compassion, and sexual self-efficacy also showed significant improvements among participants. Findings remained statistically significant after adjusting for demographic variables.

CONCLUSIONS

Tuned In! intervention outcomes were consistent over a 12-month period, highlighting its potential to be scaled up as an effective intervention for promoting mental health among SGDY, particularly during this hostile anti-LGBTQIA+ political climate. A clinical trial is recommended to compare the intervention with treatment-as-usual or other youth mental health interventions.