THE IMPACT OF SEXUAL HEALTH CURRICULA ON COLLEGE STUDENTSâ•Ž ATTITUDES TOWARDS TRANSGENDER PEOPLE

The purpose of this study was to explore first year college student’s attitudes and beliefs towards transgender people and whether high school sexual health curricula are related to the development of these beliefs. This study examined attitudes that current first year college students hold towards transgender people. The students were probed to recall whether they were exposed to comprehensive sexual health curricula versus abstinence-only curricula. A second purpose was to examine if their participation in their high school Gay-Straight-Alliances (GSA) predicted their attitudes towards transgender people as measured on the three scales of the Transgender Attitude and Belief Scale (TABS): Interpersonal Comfort, Sex/Gender Beliefs, and Human Value. Results indicated that attitudes of students who participated in a comprehensive sexual health curriculum was significantly related to participants’ positive ratings of Human Value. After controlling for potential confounding variables, such as the participants’ sexual orientation, results indicated that student attitudes towards transgender people’s Human Value were significantly impacted by the exposure to comprehensive sexual health curriculum. After controlling for potential confounds, there was no significant interaction between the presence of a GSA, or participation in a GSA, and attitudes towards transgender people. Study limitations and future directions for research are explored.

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Introduction
Visibility of transgender persons' civil rights issues have risen over the past several years. The term transgender here is used as an umbrella term that encompasses many varied gender identities, such as agender, genderfluid, male-tofemale transgender/transsexual, or female-to-male transgender/transsexual. In this paper, transgender will be used to refer to any person who does not identify with their assigned sex at-birth. Recent research suggests that schools have far to go in creating safe and inclusive environments for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) students (Peter, Taylor, & Campbell, 2016). Often, research on transgender students are grouped under the larger acronym 'LGBTQ.' Although sexual orientation and gender identity are different facets of identity, someone's sexuality usually depends on their gender. For example, if someone identifies as gay or lesbian, they are romantically or otherwise interested in someone of their same gender identity. Much of the existing research focuses on LGBTQ students as a whole, with few studies looking exclusively at the experiences of transgender students.

The School Environment of Transgender Students
Students who identify as transgender face several challenges within their schools that affect their psychological well-being. Transgender students are at an increased risk for experiencing social rejection from their fellow peers as well as depression and suicide ideation (Cohen-Kettenis, Owen, Kaijser, Bradley, & Zucker, 2013;Di Ceglie, Freedman, McPherson, & Richardson, 2002;Meyers, 2003).
According to Silberg et al. (2016), bullying significantly increases the likelihood of 2 an adolescent developing psychiatric disorders and endorsing suicide ideation. The current state of bullying, harassment, and discrimination towards students who identify as LGBTQ was reported in the Gay Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) National School Climate survey. This survey indicated that the majority of LGBTQ students face significant negative attitudes within their schools. Indeed, Kosciw, Greytak, Giga, Villenas, and Danischewski (2016) found that over half of LGBTQ students felt unsafe in their schools.
Students who identify as LGBTQ face safety concerns and discrimination within their schools. Most (85.2%) LGBTQ students reported being verbally harassed at school. Over half of LGBTQ students surveyed (54.5%) were verbally harassed based on their gender expression (Kosciw et al., 2016). The majority (85.7%) reported hearing negative slurs about transgender persons at school (Kosciw et al., 2016). Fewer (27%) LGBTQ students reported that they have been physically harassed at school due to sexual orientation and 20.3% due to their gender expression, with 13% assaulted at school due to identifying as LGBTQ (Kosciw et al., 2016). Of particular importance for discrimination towards transgender students, half of those sampled report being denied the use of their preferred pronoun to match their gender identity. The majority of transgender students were also forced to use the bathroom of their assigned sex, not their gender identity (Kosciw et al., 2016).
LGBTQ students express their safety concerns in a variety of ways, such as by avoiding school. According to Kosciw et al. (2016), many LGBTQ students avoided school or school functions due to fear; 31.8% missed school at least once, 10% missed four or more days, 39.9% avoided public bathrooms at school, 37.9% avoided locker rooms, and 71.5% avoided school functions. This avoidance has the potential to dramatically interfere with these children's future as over 30% indicated the desire to drop out of school (Kosciw et al., 2016).
These data suggest that the current school experience of LGBTQ students is largely negative and characterized by fear and isolation. Fortunately, some schools have considered ways to improve the school experience for transgender students by addressing social and policy elements that impact the school's psychological and emotional environment. Studies have shown that psychological resilience for transgender adolescents is mediated by perceived social support (Grossman, D'Augelli, & Frank, 2011). This means that transgender adolescents that have an accepting social support system have a greater likelihood of not experiencing isolation, fear, or psychiatric problems. Grossman et al. (2001) asserts the importance of providing an accepting environment for transgender adolescents in order to promote well being. Kosciw et al. (2016) found that LGBTQ students who faced lower levels of bullying or discrimination had three times fewer absences on average compared to those students who reported high rates of harassment (20.1% vs. 62.2%).
One way that schools have attempted to intervene for safety concerns is by establishing Gay Straight Alliances (GSA) or similar groups dedicated to raising awareness and acceptance for LGBTQ students. Similarly, Kosciw et al. (2016), students who attended a school with a GSA heard homophobic and transphobic remarks less frequently than those in schools without a GSA. Ioverno, Belser, Baiocco, Grossman, and Russell (2016) found that students reported higher levels of perceived safety within their schools and reduced homophobic bullying in their 4 sample of schools that included GSAs. In schools with GSAs, students also reported that their school administration more frequently intervened when bullying was reported (Kosciw et al., 2016). Further, the students reported that school staff were more open and accepting of sexual orientation and gender diversity when GSAs were present. In addition, LGBTQ students in schools with GSAs felt more connected to their school when compared to those in schools who did not have a GSA (Kosciw et al., 2016). However, 14% of LGBTQ students report being prevented to form or promote such groups within their schools (Kosciw et al, 2016).

Comprehensive Sexual Health Curriculum
Inclusive curriculum also impact LGBTQ students' sense of connectedness to their schools. An inclusive curriculum refers to representation of LGBTQ people in history or current events within the school's curriculum and access to information (such as library books or internet sources) on LGBTQ issues. Education that incorporates an inclusive curriculum in sexual health courses for LGBTQ students reduces bullying for students and results in reduced health disparities for LGBTQ populations (Future of Sex Education [FoSE], 2012). The inclusion of LGBTQ issues within the curriculum significantly impacted the rate that students' heard homophobic and transphobic comments (Kosciw et al., 2016). Students also felt safer within their schools, were more likely to attend school, and less likely to consider dropping out of school when an inclusive curricula was employed (Kosciw et al., 2016). The classes that incorporate an inclusive curriculum for LGBTQ students most often are English, History, and Health classes (Kosciw et al., 2016). courses. HECAT recommends standards to be addressed in comprehensive sexual health education, with the caveat that this curriculum be amended to match local or state laws. The first standard is that students will comprehend concepts related to health promotion and disease prevention. Second, students will analyze the influence of family, peers, culture, media, technology and other factors on health behaviors.
Third, students will demonstrate the ability to access valid information, products, and 6 services to enhance health. The fourth standard is that students will demonstrate the ability to use interpersonal communication skills to enhance health and avoid or reduce health risks. The fifth standard states that students will demonstrate the ability to use decision-making and goal-setting skills to enhance health. The sixth standard is that students will demonstrate the ability to practice health-enhancing behaviors and avoid or reduce health risks. Lastly, students will demonstrate the ability to advocate for personal, family, and community health. (HECAT, 2012).

Abstinence-Only Curriculum
According to the CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) High school students' participation in comprehensive sexual health education courses is associated with health and social-emotional benefits (FoSE, 2012). States in the U.S. that mandate medically accurate comprehensive sexual health classes for students have a lower rate of teenage pregnancies, dating violence, bullying, and reduced incidence of STIs (FoSE, 2012). In contrast, schools that have abstinenceonly education programs are more likely to have higher rates of teenage pregnancies (Kohler, Manhart, & Lafferty, 2008). These data dispel the myth that teaching adolescents about intercourse and sexuality encourages teenagers to have sex.
Further, comprehensive sexual health education does not increase the risk of youth contracting an STI (Kohler et al., 2008).

Social Environment for Transgender People
Transgender adolescents' experiences are influenced by their families and peer groups. According to Moody, Fuks, Peláez, and Smith (2015), perceived social support and a sense of social belonging is a major protective factor for transgender adolescents. A way schools can enhance social belonging for transgender adolescents is to establish groups such as GSAs (Marx & Kettey, 2016). According to Lapointe (2014), GSAs in high schools help heterosexual students find ways to use their own privileges to address LGBT students' needs. Heterosexual students also learn to combat stereotypes about LGBT persons and address HIV-related myths. Similar groups on college campuses also help to provide an inclusive environment for LGBTQ students (Marine & Nicolazzo, 2014). McCormick, Schmidt, and Clifton (2015) suggest that GSAs are related to increased perceptions of safety and positive identity development because they help normalize sexual diversity in schools. This normalization leads to positive outcomes in social and academic functioning for LGBTQ students (McCormick, Schmidt, & Clifton, 2015). Additional research suggests that even modest efforts to be inclusive to LGBTQ students, such as promoting GSAs, impacts the experiences and perceptions of sexual minority youth in schools (Peter, Taylor, & Campbell, 2016). These efforts can dramatically reduce incidents of suicidality for LGBTQ teens (Peter, Taylor, & Campbell, 2016).
However, Marine and Nicolazzo (2014) suggest that these groups have far to go in terms of including transgender students specifically in these spaces.
In conclusion, there is a need to identify social protective factors for transgender persons in the U.S.'s public schools.
LGBTQ students face disproportionate rates of depression and bullying compared to heterosexual or cisgender students. A protective factor for transgender people is social support (Moody et al., 2015). Comprehensive sexual health classes have been shown to increase the visibility, acceptance, and health of sexual minority students and prevent a host of other health risks. A major purpose of this study is to examine whether sexual health education and GSAs can influence attitudes towards transgender people by creating a sense of understanding about sexuality and gender.

Attitudes Towards LGBTQ Persons
Attitudes that heterosexual and cisgender people hold towards members of the LGBTQ significantly impact the sense of well-being for this population. The Cooperative Institutional Research Program (CIRP) survey tracks demographics, high school experiences, attitudes, behaviors, and expectations for college students within participating universities in the U.S. (Eagan et al., 2016). These data examine incoming college students' demographic data, political identity, socializing behaviors, and other constructs related to academic or occupational goals and behaviors (Eagan et al., 2016). According to Eagan et al. (2010), 76.5% of the incoming freshman for the year 2010 agreed that gay and lesbian people should be able to adopt children.
More female first year respondents (82.1%) agreed that LGB people should be able to adopt children than male respondents (68.8%) (Eagan et al., 2010). These data stand in contrast to previous generations of youth and young adults evaluated by the CIRP study, indicating a positive shift in view towards LGB people's rights. This is particularly important because prior research has demonstrated that social and peer acceptance for LGBTQ persons is critical in positive mental health (Cohen-Kettenis et al., 2003;Gower et al., 2017;Kosciw et al., 2016;Peter et al., 2016).
The most recent CIRP study highlighted transgender students' pre-college experiences, demographics, and goals. For the first time in 50 editions of this survey, CIRP included the option for participants to identify their gender identity instead of their sex (Eagan et al., 2016). Transgender students rated themselves lower than cisgender students in the areas of self-confidence, academic self-concept, leadership ability, and physical health, with the largest gap within physical health (i.e., somatic symptoms) (Eagan et al., 2016). Additionally on a positive note, transgender students, compared to their cisgender peers, reported higher levels of civic engagement and being more knowledgeable about social justice issues.
A recent study sponsored by Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) found in their 2017 Harris Poll that, for the first time since the survey's conception, there was a 4% decline in acceptance towards LGBTQ people (Ellis, 2018). Previous edition of the survey reported that 53% of participants reported being comfortable with LGBTQ people across a variety of settings, whereas this decreased to 49% in 2017 (Ellis, 2018). The Harris Poll found that there was a meaningful shift from heterosexual and cisgender people identifying as "Allies" to "Detached Supporters" (Ellis, 2018). Ellis (2018) defined Allies as non-LGBTQ people who were responded that they were "very" or somewhat" comfortable in several social situations with LGBTQ people, whereas Detached Supporters' responses varied across the situations. The Harris Poll also found that more people reported that they were uncomfortable with LGBTQ people than in previous years (Ellis, 2018). Little is known about the reasons behind this shift. These data show the importance of examining current young adults attitudes towards the LGBTQ community, especially transgender people.

Purpose of Present Study
This study had three aims. The first purpose was to explore college students' attitudes and beliefs towards people who are transgender. The Transgender Attitudes and Beliefs Scale (TABS) by Kanamori, Pegors, Hulgus, and Cornelius-White (2017) was used to measure college students' attitudes and beliefs based on the three subscales that comprise the TABS: Interpersonal Comfort (towards those who identify as transgender), Sex and Gender Beliefs, and Human Value (of people who are transgender).
A second purpose of this study was to examine how types of sexual health education impacts college students' attitudes and beliefs towards people who identify as transgender. The independent variable for this question was type of sexual health education (abstinence-only or comprehensive or unsure), and the dependent variables were the three subscales from TABS: Interpersonal Comfort, Sex and Gender Beliefs, and Human Value.
A third purpose of the study was to examine how participation in and availability of gay-straight alliances (GSA) in high school impacts college students' attitudes and beliefs towards people who are transgender. The independent variables were if a GSA was present in the participant's high school, if the student participated in the GSA, or if there was no GSA present. The dependent variables were the TABS Interpersonal Comfort, Sex and Gender Beliefs, and Human Value subscales.

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The study addressed the following questions: 1) What are college students' attitudes and beliefs towards people who identify as transgender?
2) Do college students' attitudes towards people who are transgender vary as a function of previous sexual health courses?
3) Do students' attitudes towards people who are transgender vary based on their exposure to a GSA? Further, does participation in a GSA affect cisgender students' attitudes and beliefs towards people are transgender?

Participants
The present study involved 256 first year University of Rhode Island students who participated (including men = 88 (34.37%), women = 166 (64.84%), transgender/non-binary = 2 (.78%)) aged 18 to 26 years old. The students were enrolled in general education courses such as General Psychology, Communications Foundation, and General Sociology. Table 1 provides demographic and personal background information of the 256 participants. Of note, in the present study the definition of a transgender person on the TABS was changed to be more inclusive of trans* identities. The definition was altered from "For this questionnaire, a transgender person is defined as a person whose biological sex at birth does not match their felt sense of self as male or female" (Kanamori et al., 2016) to "For this questionnaire, a transgender person is defined as a person whose assigned sex at birth does not match their gender identity." Sexual Health Curricula. Participants were asked two questions pertaining to sexual health curricula (see Appendix C). Participants were asked to endorse which approach, abstinence-only or comprehensive, was more similar to the content they were exposed to in their high school. A brief definition was created for each curricula as well as a third option for participants to select if they could not recall. The second question asked for participants to endorse various elements or topics that were present in their sexual health course(s). These questions required participants to indicate which of the following topics were represented in their high school curricula: condoms/birth control, STIs, healthy relationships, dating violence, sexual violence, consent, sexuality, gender identity, and same sex relationships. For the present study, the type of sexual health curricula the students were exposed to served as an independent variable. were easily understood as written and the majority (n = 11) rated the item as easy to answer. However, three participants suggested that the term "curriculum" could be potentially misunderstood: Indeed one participant needed the researcher to provide a definition of the terms "curriculum" and "abstinence." As a result of the feedback, the term "curriculum" was removed from the final survey's definitions of sexual health education and replaced with the term "content." In the final instrument, the word 20 "abstinence" was also defined (as not engaging in any sexual activity) as a result of the feedback. Next, participants were asked to endorse if topics from a list were present in their sexual health curriculum (see Appendix C). All participants endorsed that this question was worded clearly and the majority (n = 11) responded that the item was easy to answer. The next series of items that the interviewees responded to concerned GSAs within students' high schools. Themes that emerged from participant responses concerned adding an additional qualifier for groups that may have not been called a GSA but are similar in their purpose to advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ community. As a result, the qualifier GSA or similar group was added to items concerning GSAs (see Appendix E).

Study recruitment and data collection.
In the second phase of the study, participants were recruited from general education courses at the University of Rhode Island (e.g., General Psychology, General Sociology, Communications Foundations).
Participants were provided with an anonymous online link by Qualtrics Survey Engine. Once they followed the link, they read an informed consent page including a description of the survey. They were asked to indicate whether they were at least 18 years old and if they agreed to participate in the study. If participants did not give their consent or were not at least 18 years old, the survey engine sent the participant to the end of the survey. If a participant indicated that they were in another year apart from their first, they were directed to the end of the survey as well. Upon meeting the eligibility criteria and agreeing to participate in the study, participants were directed to the demographic and personal background questions, sexual health curricula items, and GSA items. Following these items, participants were then directed to complete the TABS. Students received course credit in return for their participation in the study.

Preliminary Analyses
Data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 25.0. Prior to conducting analyses to address the study inquiries, descriptive statistics were examined to determine if the data met the assumptions of normality, linearity, and homogeneity of variance.
Preliminary analyses revealed that data did not meet the assumptions of normality, as the data was negatively skewed. Data were transformed using a log transformation in order to normalize the distribution. A correlation analysis revealed that a person's sexual orientation and knowing a person who is LGBT was related to the outcome variables (results from the TABS). This means that these variables are potential confounds, and therefore were analyzed as covariates in the Multivariate Analysis of Variance.

Research Question 1. Research question one investigated current first
year college students' attitudes and beliefs towards people who are transgender.
Again, for the present study, the range and mean of scores for each subscale was In the present study, students generally reported that they value transgender people's rights and humanity, they would be interpersonally comfortable with a transgender person, and they endorsed progressive ideas concerning sex and gender.

Research Question 2.
Research question two examined if college students' who have been exposed to comprehensive sexual health content, rather than abstinence-only content, would foster more positive attitudes and beliefs towards people who are transgender. The students who were exposed to these two types of content were of unequal sizes; the majority of participants reported that they enrolled in a comprehensive sexual health course (n = 182; 71%); less enrolled in an abstinence-only sexual health course (n = 47; 18.4%), and some were unsure of which course they took (n = 26; 10.2%) (see Table 5). To assess the group differences between abstinence-only content and comprehensive sexual health content, a MANCOVA was conducted (see Table 2).

Results from the overall model revealed that a participant's Interpersonal
Comfort with transgender people, Sex and Gender Beliefs, and Human Value of transgender people was significantly different based on the type of sexual health content they endorsed as being exposed to F(6,472) = 6.72, p <.001, with a small effect size calculated by Partial Eta Squared (η 2 = .07). The univariate effects of the three dependent variables were examined using follow-up ANCOVAs (see Table 2).
Interpersonal Comfort (F(2) = .890, p = .412) and Sex and Gender Beliefs (F(2) = 2.10, p = .124) did not significantly differ based on the type of sexual health content endorsed. After controlling for the effects of covariates, univariate analyses indicated that the Human Value subscale was significantly different based on to the type of sexual health content (F(2) = 14.98, p <.001), and obtained a medium effect sized calculated by Partial Eta Squared (η 2 = .112). This means that students who participated in a comprehensive sexual health course had significantly more positive attitudes towards transgender people's Human Value than did those who participated in abstinence-only courses. While this difference in means achieved statistical significance, the mean score of students who endorsed being exposed to the comprehensive sexual health content was only two points higher than the mean score of students within abstinence-only content group (see Table 5). There were no effects that could not be better explained by a participant's sexual orientation or proximity to a LGBT person for the variables Interpersonal Comfort and Sex and Gender Beliefs.
This means that the type of sexual health course was only significant in relation to perceptions of Human Value for transgender persons. Although not part of the main research questions, participants were asked to endorse which components were present in their sexual health course given a list of topics: condoms/birth control, STIs, healthy relationships, dating violence, consent, sexual violence, same sex relationships, gender identity, and sexuality (see Table 3).
Most participants (about 88%) endorsed being exposed to topics about condom/birth control and STIs while far fewer indicated that gender identity (n = 57, 22.3%) and sexuality (n = 93, 36%) were discussed in their course (see Table 3).
Although the sample size of those who participated in a GSA was small, results 29 indicated that participating in a GSA was also not related to Interpersonal Comfort  Table 7). This means that the presence of a GSA in students' high school was not associated with their attitudes towards transgender people, and further that participating in a GSA also did not significantly impact attitudes towards transgender people.

Discussion
This study was designed to examine college students' attitudes towards people who are transgender. More specifically, the study investigated the influence of high school sexual health curricula on attitudes towards transgender people, and high school GSA presence and attitudes towards transgender people. Results indicated that the type of sexual health curricula was significantly related to attitudes towards transgender people's "human value" as measured on the Human Value subscale of the TABS. Students who reported that they were enrolled in a comprehensive sexual health curriculum in high school also reported more positive attitudes concerning transgender individual's human value. This means that overall, students within this sample who had exposure to comprehensive sexual health were more likely to view transgender people as valuable human beings, deserving respect and dignity, and that they would not endorse maltreatment of transgender persons. This is a critically important finding as maltreatment, such as bullying, or complicity in bullying impacts transgender people's well-being (Gower et al., 2017;Kosciw et al., 2016;Mustanski et al., 2016) and fostering a positive and welcoming social environment is vital for transgender people's mental health (Kosciw et al., 2016;Mustanski et al., 2016). At In terms of the study findings, although students who endorsed enrolling in a comprehensive sexual curriculum versus an abstinence-only health curriculum held more positive attitudes regarding transgender people's Human Value, there were no 32 significant effects found between curriculum exposure and attitudes towards Sex and Gender or Interpersonal Comfort with transgender people (as measured by the two relevant TABS subscales). When examining which specific topics were present in student's sexual health curriculum, relatively few participants reported that gender identity was discussed (23.4%) versus sexual orientation (43.3%). Therefore, comprehensive sexual health education may currently not consistently address the variation in human sex and gender (i.e., trans issues, intersex spectrum, etc.). In addition, it is possible that within the different curricula, there is variation in topics covered based on school district.
Findings from this sample indicated a non-significant influence for GSA presence on attitudes towards transgender people after controlling for participants' sexual orientation and relationships with LGBT people. Prior research has demonstrated that GSA presence in high school is associated with positive school climate and decreased bullying behavior towards to LGBT students (Steck & Perry, 2016;Swanson & Gettinger, 2016). The findings from the present study could be attributed to the small sample size, unequal groups, or the very small proportion of students indicating involvement with a GSA (3.21%). Indeed, the present study was made up mostly of students who identify as cisgender and heterosexual and may not have been inclined to participate in their high school's GSA.
The results of the present study add to our understanding of the influence of

Limitations
There are several limitations in this study. First, these data are retrospective.
In the study, first year college students were asked to reflect back upon their high school experiences, which for some participants could have been a long period of time depending on when their sexual health curricula was taught. Second, data were not normally distributed, which is an assumption of a MANOVA analysis. Data were transformed to become a more normal distribution using a log transformation.
Homogeneity of variance was also violated, indicating that the variance of the dependent variable was not equal across all groups. Further, the unequal group sizes and small sample size in several groups (i.e., GSA participation, abstinence-only curricula) may also impact the generalizability and validity of the results. Another limitation concerns the timing of data collection. Students were recruited as first year students once they had already been enrolled in college courses.
Data collection took place in both first semester of the first year and second semester of their first year. It is likely that the university setting is a more diverse setting than their high schools; therefore students could have been exposed to LGBTQ issues within their first year courses or in academic/social clubs. This could have affected attitude development towards transgender people outside the influence of high school curricula. This study did ask participants to endorse whether they were ever a member of URI's GSA or similar group as an effort to address this potential limitation. It was found that the majority of students did not participate in a community LGBT group (n = 20, 7.81%) or URI's GSA (n = 1, .4 %).

Future Research Directions
To overcome the limitations of the current study, future studies should not be retrospective, but instead employ high school students while they are enrolled in GSAs or incorporating LGBT history and topics, helps to foster a positive school climate for LGBT students (Kosciw et al., 2016). The social environment is particularly influential for LGBT people; as problems such as anxiety, depression, and suicide ideation are not a result of a gender or sexual minority identity but rather a function of the social environment. Investigating ways to foster positive school environment for LGBT people is of vital importance for our nation's youth. Students who participate will take part in an anonymous online survey inquiring about their high school experiences such as sexual health courses and gay-straightalliances. Any information a participant offers will be kept strictly confidential and all information is de-identified. This survey will last about 20-25 minutes and be taken in online format.

Statement on Diversity
Individuals that meet the following criteria are invited to participate: • An undergraduate attending University of Rhode Island who is 18 years or older • First semester first-year students Please forward this announcement to students who might be interested in participating in this study. Please feel free to contact me with any questions about this study at (401) Kanamori et al. (2016). Participants will also respond to questions about high school sexual health courses, high school gaystraight-alliances, and demographic/personal background information.
What will be done: If you decide to participate in this study, you will anonymously answer questions from the Transgender Attitudes and Belief Scale, respond to demographic/personal background information, indicate which high school sexual health course you participated in, and indicate if you participated in a high school sponsored Gay-Straight-Alliance club, or similar group.
Risks or discomfort: Brief discomfort may happen when answering sensitive questions about sexuality and gender identity.
Benefits of this study: Benefits of participating in this study include expanding knowledge on how high school experiences may influence attitudes towards people who are transgender. This will add to the literature about possible systems-level interventions to increase positive school climate for LGBTQ+ students.
Confidentiality: Your participation in this study is strictly confidential. No names or identifying information will be collected. Demographic information is collected only for background purposes. All data will be de-identified and kept under password protection. You must be at least 18 years of age to participate in this study.
Decision to quit at any time: If you decide to participate in this study, you can withdraw your participation at any time. There are no consequences for not participating in the study or electing to not respond to any questions.