Browsing by Author "Dockendorff, Kari, committee member"

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Open Access
Evaluating gender/sex measures for inclusion of non-binary participants
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Schlechter, Thomas E., author; Conner, Bradley T., advisor; Dockendorff, Kari, committee member; Prince, Mark, committee member; Graham, Dan, committee member
With the amount of research on Transgender, Non-Binary, and Gender Expansive communities growing, there has been increasing attention paid to the methods used to collect and analyze gender/sex data from participants. Across fields, multiple methods of collecting gender/sex data have been used, but recently a large portion of the literature has highlighted the Two-Step Method (Tate et al., 2013; NASEM, 2022) as a current best practice. However, the Two-Step Method is not without flaws, notably the disagreement on inclusion of categories outside of man, woman, and transgender which may limit the extent to which Non-Binary participants feel included and represented by this approach. This study asked Non-Binary participants to respond to three different survey instruments used for gender/sex data collection and then asked to rate how well they understood the question(s) and if they felt included by the questions. Additionally, participants rated the accuracy of the category each measure assigned them to their own lived experience. Results found that all measures were comprehensible and inclusive, but that measures explicitly including Non-Binary as a category were more accurate to participants. Implications for these results in the inclusion of Non-Binary communities in research are discussed.
Open Access
Examining the lived experiences of higher education administrators of color with STEM related doctoral degrees
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Thomas, Bryan A., Jr., author; Basile, Vincent, advisor; Anderson, Sharon, committee member; Childers, Michael, committee member; Dockendorff, Kari, committee member
The imperative to increase the representation of historically minoritized groups (HMG) in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers by addressing systemic barriers in the United States remains a formidable challenge with profound implications. By 2036, the majority of high school graduates in the United States will be people of color (Ellsworth et al., 2022), necessitating that research-intensive institutions, particularly historically white institutions (HWI), implement robust systems and structures to mitigate systemic challenges faced by students of color. Failure to address systemic barriers discourages people of color from pursuing careers in STEM and academia, perpetuating systemic inequality and depriving higher education institutions of opportunities to foster equitable and just environments. This study investigates the lived experiences of individuals of color who earned STEM degrees and pursued careers as higher education practitioners or administrative staff. These practitioners are crucial in supporting both students of color and white students. However, the hiring and retention of staff have become increasingly challenging during and after the Covid-19 pandemic (Bichsel et al., 2022; Fuesting, 2023; Zahneis, 2022, 2023). This study applies Critical Race Theory and Socialization as a conceptual model to offer a unique perspective on people of color who have earned doctorates and chose to work as practitioners in higher education, a topic that is relatively underexplored. Through narrative inquiry as a methodological approach and analyzing the data through a CRT lens, four themes emerge with a central theme of the commitment to opportunity informed by the participants lived experiences. The four themes are (1) Alone Together; (2) Stewardship: Service Beyond Obligation; (3) A New Equilibrium: Environmental Validation and Déjà Vu; and (4) External Influences: Covid-19 Pandemic, Racial Injustice, and Apolitical Environment. The narrative themes showcase how the staff who chose to work as higher education administration staff were determined to create an environment that cultivates talent and increases a sense of belonging for students, faculty, and staff.
Open Access
Exploration of factors impacting caregivers' comfort discussing sexuality with ASD youth
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Jensen, Spencer Lynn, author; Hepburn, Susan, advisor; Quirk, Kelley, advisor; Dockendorff, Kari, committee member
The present study aims to understand factors impacting caregivers' comfort and education goals related to their autistic youth's sexuality through secondary data analysis. Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are a vulnerable group to sexual victimization and experience unique psychosexual development. There is little known about sex education efficacy for autistic individuals and how to support caregivers' comfort in addressing issues of sexuality with their youth. This study utilizes secondary analysis of pre-intervention data collected prior to a small (n = 8) pilot study for a sexuality education intervention for parents of autistic youth in 2006. In this project, the following questions will be addressed via narrative analysis and visual inspection: what are caregivers' goals for their autistic youth related to sexuality/sex education and what are the factors impacting caregiver's comfort in talking about their autistic youth's sexuality? Results highlight the heterogeneity of individuals with ASD suggest the need for multi-level and multi-system interventions to promote healthy psychosexual development for autistic youth as sexuality is impacted by several systems and impacts several domains of functioning. Lastly, implications and future directions for research and clinical practice will be discussed.
Open Access
Testing trans identity pride as a mental health resilience factor among trans and gender diverse adults
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Egli, Madison R., author; Prince, Mark, advisor; Brenner, Rachel, committee member; Matsuno, Em, committee member; Dockendorff, Kari, committee member
Trans and gender diverse (TGD) people in the US report disproportionately higher rates of mental health concerns than cisgender heterosexual and LGB individuals, as well as the U.S. population more broadly (Borgogna et al., 2019; James et al., 2016; Su et al., 2016). This study tested part of the recently introduced Transgender Resilience Intervention Model (TRIM; Matsuno & Israel, 2018) to examine the moderation effects of identity pride on the relationships between two TGD minority stressors (rejection, negative expectations for the future) and mental health outcomes with a sample of 514 TGD adults in the United States. Originally, I tested a moderated mediation path model using PROCESS syntax in MPlus wherein rejection predicted depression and anxiety through negative expectations for the future, with identity pride moderating the relationship between negative expectations for the future and mental health outcomes. However, the model was not interpretable due to poor model fit indices. Post-hoc model revisions revealed a model wherein rejection predicted greater negative expectations for the future through increased depression and anxiety. In contrast with hypotheses, conditional indirect effects revealed a trend in which TGD individuals high in identity pride were more negatively impacted by experiences of rejection. These results suggest that identity pride, although important for promoting wellness among TGD individuals (Singh et al., 2013), may render TGD adults more vulnerable for developing depression and anxiety following gender-identity-based rejection. Given the relatively small sample size in the current study for detecting moderation effects, future research should examine these relationships in larger studies of TGD individuals in the United States to further understand the impact of identity pride on minority stress in TGD communities.
Open Access
Transgender stratification economics
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Haggar, Robert, author; Vasudevan, Ramaa, advisor; Bernasek, Alexandra, committee member; Fremstad, Anders, committee member; Dockendorff, Kari, committee member
This dissertation provides extensive evidence of economic stratification articulated through cisheteropatriarchal power and white supremacy. This evidence is presented through three discrete chapters. Chapter 1: Research on the economic status of transgender status has found that trans* people face pervasive discrimination from both state and non-state actors. This paper builds upon the growing labor-economics of transgender people but breaks with it by considering economic precarity more broadly. By incorporating insights from intersectional theory and Marxian Feminism, this paper seeks to argue that economic marginalization and social oppression reinforce and enable one another. Following the intersectional methods of stratification economics, this paper compares the economic marginality of trans* people to the US population across income distributions and labor force status using the 2015 United States Transgender Survey and the 2015 American Community Survey. Trans* individuals are clustered in precarious labor force statuses which are characterized by low income. This clustering is more pronounced for transgender women, nonbinary people, and racially marginalized people. These transgender individuals, alongside those with disabilities and those who have experienced workplace discrimination due to their gender identity, are far more likely to engage in low-income self-employment, sex work, and illegal employment. Chapter 2: Trans* people are disproportionately poorer than their cisgender counterparts. Due to the financial cost of maintaining residence in housing and the negative effects of not having adequate housing, the relative impoverishment of transgender individuals may influence their ability to afford housing. The US Dept of Housing and Urban Development defines an individual or household as "cost burdened" when they pay more than 30% of their monthly income to cover housing costs. This study will compare the rates of cost burden across the transgender and cisgender populations and across housing types in the US using the Household Pulse Survey. To estimate housing cost burden, I will construct a cost burden variable for each observation by constructing upper and lower bounds of the range within which cost burden, defined as rent cost divided by income, lies. Transgender men allocate 7.9% more of their total income to rent payments, while female "nones" allocate 9.5% more of their total income, compared to cisgender men. The rent premia paid by transgender individuals compared to cisgender men varies conditional on the racial group considered. Increased rent burdens faced by white individuals are lower than that for Black or Hispanic individuals. Chapter 3: Using Phases 3.2-3.5 of the Household Pulse Survey, this paper establishes statistically significant differences in likelihood of Unemployment Insurance utilization between cisgender men and transgender men, transgender women, and individuals assigned male at birth but identifying as not a man, a woman, or transgender. Transgender men and women and individuals assigned male at birth but identifying as not a man, a woman, or transgender are also more likely than cisgender men to live in households where another adult receives Unemployment Insurance income, relative to cisgender men. These results may follow from the interaction between patriarchal breadwinner norms and the structure of unemployment insurance, which undercuts the ability for cisgender women to access unemployment insurance and encourages cisgender men to avoid unemployment. Psychological costs and lower average incomes may discourage trans* individuals from engaging with Unemployment Insurance.