Thank you for considering our study! You are eligible to participate if you are an adult (18 or older) and have same-sex attractions (SSA) or identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer, or questioning (LGBQ). This study examines your background – who you are mentally, socially, physically, and spiritually. We are interested in you regardless of whether you are spiritual or not, physically fit or not, etc. We would like to examine the relationship between these various aspects of yourself. We hope this will be an action research project. Our website (http://www.greensburg.pitt.edu/academics/psychology/my-whole-life-study) provides information concerning resources available to persons with SSA and research that dispels harmful myths about LGBQ. We have researched LGBQ families and recognize that these families are just as healthy – sometimes even healthier – than straight families.

To give you some background of who we are: Dr. Russ Phillips is an assistant professor of psychology, from Washington, PA, and he is supervising undergraduate students at the University of Pittsburgh at Greensburg interested in this project. SSA/LGBQ rights became a close personal issue for Dr. Phillips when a family member came out in 2002. Dr. Phillips served as a consultant to the University of Maine LGBQ Services in 2005, and started researching SSA in 2009. We are Safe Zone trained, and made sure to review our survey with multiple individuals who have SSA. If you have ideas for this survey or want more information, please feel free to email Dr. Phillips at rep50@pitt.edu or mywholelifestudy@gmail.com. We hope to provide the results of this survey on the aforementioned webpage in the summer of 2015.

Our questions are of a personal nature. You might find some questions interesting and insightful, and some might bring up less pleasant memories. You are welcome to not answer any question that makes you uncomfortable, or stop participating at any time. We hope our study will inform the scientific and broader community of the strengths and needs of persons who have SSA. Our intent is to advocate for SSA/LGBQ rights, and part of that is to understand what you have been through. We do not ask for your name, and your answers will be aggregated(not linked to you personally). The information you provide is encrypted and can only be accessed with a login and password, and we will keep all data in a password-protected computer. To add to your protection, we suggest that after submitting the survey, CLEAR your browser’s RECENT HISTORY (in Firefox, go to history – clear recent history). We also suggest that you take the survey at home or in a private setting to better ensure your privacy. If you find yourself becoming seriously distressed from the survey (we do not expect this to happen) you can call the national crisis hotline 1-800-784-2433.

This study has been approved by the University of Pittsburgh Human Subjects Review Board as a study respectful of your rights.

Thank you again!
Are you currently in a romantic relationship?
Please answer the following questions about your CURRENT ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP OR - if you are not currently in a romantic relationship - YOUR MOST RECENT ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP. If you have never been in a romantic relationship, skip the items dealing with such a relationship.
Your current relationship is with someone who is (or your last relationship was with someone who was):
Is your current relationship exclusive (or was your most recent relationship exclusive)?

 Please note how much you agree with each statement concerning your current or most recent romantic relationship.
Strongly Disagree Moderately Disagree Slightly Disagree Neutral Slightly Agree Moderately Agree Strongly Agree
    1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Please rate your happiness with the romantic relationship:
All couples have conflict. Consider how often you use(d) each of the following when there is a disagreement in your current romantic relationship. (Or, if you are currently not in a relationship, consider your most recent romantic relationship.)
Never Rarely Sometimes Most of the Time All of the Time
      1 2 3 4 5
Please indicate the extent to which each of the following words describe(d) your ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIP.
Strongly Disagree Moderately Disagree Slightly Disagree Neutral Slightly Agree Moderately Agree Strongly Agree
      1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Please indicate the extent to which each of the following words describe(d) your SEXUAL RELATIONSHIP with your current or most recent committed partner
Strongly Disagree Moderately Disagree Slightly Disagree Neutral Slightly Agree Moderately Agree Strongly Agree
      1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Please note how much each item reflects how you felt during or immediately after sexual encounters with your current or most recent partner of a committed relationship. (choose N/A if you have no sexual experience).
Not Applicable Not at All Slightly Moderately A Lot A Tremendous Amount
      0 1 2 3 4 5
How often do/did you use protection (condom, dental dam, etc.) when having sex in your most recent committed relationship?
What is your gender?
What is your race/ethnicity
What is your level of education?
How much combined income did everyone in your house bring in this past year?
Please note the extent to which you experience the particular type of intimacy with each gender:
Exclusively of the Same Gender About Half From Each Gender Exclusively of the Opposite Gender
      1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Which of the following would best describe you?
For the following questions, please round to the nearest year (or leave blank if you have yet to experience what the question asks). At what age did you…
Please mark the response that best indicates your current experiences. Please be as honest as possible: Indicate how you really feel now, not how you think you should feel.
Strongly Disagree Moderately Disagree Slightly Disagree Slightly Agree Moderately Agree Strongly Agree
    1 2 3 4 5 6
What is your current religious preference?
Has your religious denomination changed over your lifetime?
Which best describes you?
Which best describes you?
How often do you pray or meditate privately in places other than your place of worship?
How often do you attend religious services?
Please consider ONE recent stressful event in your life. What category would your stressful event fall under?
How often have you recently used each of the following to cope with that event? Feel free to replace ‘higher power’ with whatever term works for you – God, Allah, Yahweh, etc. If you are not religious, you can choose "Not at All" for the applicable item.
Not at All A Little Quite a BIt A Lot
    0 1 2 3
Please answer the following items about how things currently stand with the stressful event you have been considering.
Strongly Disagree Mildly Disagree Both Agree and Disagree Mildly Agree Strongly Agree
    1 2 3 4 5
To what extent do you currently feel each emotion when thinking about THE STRESSFUL EVENT YOU HAVE BEEN CONSIDERING?
Not at All A Little Moderately Quite a Bit Extremely
      1 2 3 4 5
Below is a list of problems people sometimes have. Choose the number that describes how much that problem has distressed or bothered you during the past SEVEN (7) DAYS including today.
Not at All A Little Bit Moderately Quite a Bit Extremely
      1 2 3 4 5
Some persons who are gay, lesbian, or bisexual have had wonderful relationships with a higher power and with their spiritual community, others have not. We would like to know your experience in this area.
Not at All A Little Quite a Bit A Lot
      0 1 2 3
If you have had the experiences listed in the last two questions (that is, you answered 1,2, or 3), we would like to know how much you have used each of the following to cope with this experience. If you have not had problems with others saying homosexuality is a sin, you can skip these nine items.
Not at All A Little Quite a Bit A Lot
    0 1 2 3
How did you discover this survey?