Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 19, 2026

Advancing Dyslexia Assessment in Children Through Computerized Testing
Published on: August 16, 2024
Developing a state-level structural cisheteropatriarchy legal index in the United States
Dougie Zubizarreta1, Ariel L Beccia2, S Bryn Austin3
1Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Background:
Structural cisheteropatriarchy operates through laws and policies, institutionalized practices, and cultural norms to maintain the dominance and normalization of compulsory cisheterosexuality and patriarchy. This system of oppression subordinates women, queer people, and trans and nonbinary people, while advantaging cisheterosexual men - thereby contributing to health inequities. To enable further study, we developed and evaluated the reliability and validity of the first state-level structural cisheteropatriarchy legal index.
Methods:
We conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) to assess construct validity and develop a legal index comprised of 32 indicators of protective/harmful state laws across five domains in 2023: economic, youth and education, healthcare and reproductive justice, political, and violence. We generated descriptive statistics and heat maps to visualize overall and indicator-specific patterns.
Results:
Inter-item correlations ranged from 0.01 to 0.80 (with 35% ≥ 0.40), and Cronbach's alpha (0.94) and coefficient omega (0.95) indicated good internal consistency reliability. EFA supported a single underlying latent factor. Structural cisheteropatriarchy legal index scores were lowest in the West and Northeast, and highest in the South, with substantial heterogeneity across states (range = -26 to 32, mean = 3.9). Notably, even states with generally protective legal climates enacted harmful laws.
Conclusions:
This measure provides strong initial support for construct validity and addresses critical gaps in structural discrimination research. Future studies should examine how structural cisheteropatriarchy shapes population health and health inequities.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
Stereotypes, Prejudice, and Discrimination
The Ratio of X Chromosome to Autosomes
Normal male Drosophila has a ratio of one X chromosome to two sets of autosomes. In contrast, normal female Drosophila...
Self Within Cultural Contexts
Relationship Formation
Development of the Sexual Organs in the Embryo and Fetus
Near the gonadal ridges, two duct systems are present: the mesonephric ducts (Wolffian ducts) and paramesonephric ducts (Müllerian ducts). These ducts form the basis for the male...
Sources of Law
Constitutional law is foundational, deriving from federal and state constitutions, and...

