The AFFIRM open pilot feasibility study: A brief affirmative cognitive behavioral coping skills group intervention for sexual and gender minority youth

• We pilot test an affirmative cognitive behavioral intervention for sexual and gender minority youth.
• AFFIRM contributes to reduced depression, threat appraisal and increased reflective coping and challenge appraisal.
• AFFIRM is acceptable to a range of sexual and gender minority youth and feasible to deliver in community.

This pilot study sought to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of a brief, eight module affirmative cognitive behavioral coping skills group intervention (AFFIRM) with sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY) developed through community partnerships. A diverse sample of SGMY (n = 30) participated in the AFFIRM pilot and completed reliable measures of depression, reflective coping, and stress appraisal at three time points. Over the study duration, significant reductions were found in depression and appraising stress as a threat. Significant increases were found in reflective coping and perceiving stress as a challenge. Participants found the intervention to be valuable and reported high levels of acceptability and skills acquisition. These promising findings suggest that AFFIRM has potential effectiveness as a community-based intervention for SGMY. Implications for practice and research are provided.