LGBTQ Persons' Pregnancy Loss Disclosures to Known Ties on Social Media: Disclosure Decisions and Ideal Disclosure Environments

Title of the Paper

LGBTQ Persons’ Pregnancy Loss Disclosures to Known Ties on Social Media: Disclosure Decisions and Ideal Disclosure Environments

Paper Information

• Subject Area: Experiences of pregnancy loss and disclosure decisions among LGBTQ individuals on social media
• Keywords: Pregnancy loss, miscarriage, LGBTQ health, reproductive health, social media, information disclosure, intersectional stigma, intersectional identity

Research Background and Problem Statement

• Problem or Challenge:

  • Pregnancy loss is a common yet socially stigmatized event, especially for LGBTQ individuals with marginalized gender or sexual identities, where intersectional stigma exacerbates their challenges.
  • Existing research on disclosure decisions in social media primarily focuses on heterosexual women, neglecting the experiences of LGBTQ individuals with pregnancy loss.

• Significance:

  • LGBTQ pregnancy loss involves not only personal emotional trauma but also complex impacts on their social support and identity expression. Understanding this topic is crucial for addressing the specific issues faced by multiply marginalized groups.

• Research Motivation and Related Work:

  • Traditional support systems for pregnancy loss (e.g., offline support groups) often fail to meet the needs of LGBTQ individuals.
  • Social media offers opportunities for disclosure and seeking support, but platform designs have yet to provide optimal solutions for intersectional identities and experiences.

Solution

• Method or Solution:

  • Utilizing the "Disclosure Decision-Making Framework" (DDM) to explain LGBTQ individuals’ disclosure decisions regarding pregnancy loss on social media.
  • Proposing design recommendations for ideal social media environments to promote healthy disclosure behaviors.

• Innovations:

  • Applying the DDM framework to contexts of intersectional stigma, expanding its theoretical applicability.
  • Exploring how social media design can mitigate negative impacts of disclosure from the perspective of minority groups.

• Implementation Steps and Key Techniques:

  • Recruiting 17 LGBTQ individuals who recently experienced pregnancy loss and use social media for semi-structured interviews.
  • Conducting qualitative thematic analysis to categorize participants’ reasons for disclosure (or non-disclosure) based on the DDM framework.
  • Proposing platform design recommendations: enabling selective disclosure, proxy content management, educating audiences on supportive language, and reducing positivity bias.

Research Findings

• Specific Findings:

  • LGBTQ identity significantly influences pregnancy loss disclosure decisions, particularly in terms of motivations for (non)disclosure, including unique challenges posed by intersectional stigma.
  • Proposed characteristics of an ideal social media environment applicable to all users, aimed at supporting marginalized groups in healthy disclosure of experiences.

• Advantages:

  • Expands the applicability of existing disclosure frameworks to explain behaviors in contexts of intersectional stigma.
  • Provides design recommendations to improve the diversity and inclusivity of social media platforms.

• Experimental or Evaluation Results:

  • Respondents generally desired platforms to offer a safe and supportive environment for disclosing and processing sensitive experiences like pregnancy loss.
  • Validation of the DDM framework demonstrated its ability to address specific disclosure barriers faced by LGBTQ individuals.

• Limitations and Future Directions:

  • The study sample predominantly consisted of highly educated, white, urban women, with limited representation of non-binary individuals and people of color.
  • Further research into diverse groups could help identify additional issues arising from "intersectional stigma."
  • Future work could explore applying the DDM framework to other intersectional stigma scenarios, such as mental health disclosures by refugees or online disclosures by victims of racial violence.

Design Implications and Outlook

• Design Recommendations:

  • Selective Disclosure: Enhance social media platforms’ support for users to disclose to specific subgroups, including features like tags or curated lists.
  • Proxy Content Management: Allow users to designate friends or proxies to manage comments on sensitive disclosures.
  • User Education: Platforms should educate users on appropriate language and behaviors to support marginalized groups.
  • Prioritize Sensitive Disclosure Content: Adjust platform algorithms to highlight content involving personal disclosures or social issues, reducing positivity bias.

• Outlook:

  • Social media has the potential to evolve into a broader support platform for marginalized groups, helping to reduce social stigma while fostering understanding and dialogue across communities.