Non-Verbal Pride Expressions as a Predictor of LGBTQ Health

Author

Craig Gilbert, CUNY Hunter CollegeFollow

Date of Award

Spring 4-28-2022

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Danielle Berke

Second Advisor

Tyrel Starks

Academic Program Adviser

Sandeep Prasada

Abstract

Pride is a self-conscious, positive emotion that has been assessed in a wide range of populations and with a variety of pre-validated measures. Research has shown that the presence of pride can function as a potential resilience factor against minority based stress and has been linked to increased emotional well being, life satisfaction, and self-esteem. However, a majority of this research relies upon self-report questionnaires as opposed to observational data. To evaluate the predictive power of non-verbal pride behaviors, a group of LGBTQ+ individuals (n=125) were asked during a recorded interview to describe an experience where they felt prideful about their identity. Participants were also asked to complete a series of self-report questionnaires related to identity-based pride, social connectivity, and physical health. Using a non-verbal pride behavioral coding system, a team of 4 researchers evaluated pride behaviors during the interviews with strong reliability (α =.76-.89). While measures of both non-verbal and self-reported independently observed the presence of pride, a multitrait-multimethod analysis revealed no significant correlations between non-verbal behavioral pride and any of the selected self-report questionnaires. Results indicated that different methods for evaluating pride will not always detect pride in the same individuals, as a participant can show non-verbal pride behaviors without self-reporting feelings or experiences of pride, or vice versa. This supports the need for multi-method pride assessments in future behavioral research, particularly as a means to evaluate self-conscious expressions.

Recommended Citation

Gilbert, Craig, "Non-Verbal Pride Expressions as a Predictor of LGBTQ Health" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/hc_sas_etds/856