Outness, discrimination, and depressive symptoms among bi+ women: The roles of partner gender and sexual identity

Differences in Minority Stress Experiences, Mental Health, and Relationship Quality Outcomes Among Bisexual, Pansexual, and Queer Women

The majority of sexual minority women in the United States today identify as bi+. Recent research suggests that "non-traditional" bi+ labels such as pansexual and queer are being adopted more frequently than ever before, making it increasingly important to evaluate whether these women have unique needs. In the current study, we explored differences in minority stress experiences, mental health, and relationship quality outcomes by sexual identity label among women who identify with the most common bi+ labels: bisexual, pansexual, and queer. Participants were 285 bi+ cisgender women in romantic relationships. They completed online measures of minority stress (antibisexual experiences, identity concealment, disconnection from the sexual and gender minority (SGM) community, and internalized stigma), mental health (depression and anxiety), and relationship quality (satisfaction and commitment). Overall, participants reported similar experiences of minority stress and few differences in their mental health outcomes. However, there were differences in antibisexual experiences by sexual identity label, such that pansexual women reported more frequent antibisexual experiences than bisexual and queer women. There were also differences in relationship quality by sexual identity label, such that bisexual women reported higher satisfaction than pansexual women and higher commitment than both pansexual and queer women. Findings suggest that pansexual and queer women may be facing their own unique challenges, even compared to bisexual women. Clinical prevention and intervention efforts can be tailored for these women to include strategies to cope with more frequent exposure to antibisexual experiences, as well as relationship education and skill-building to promote healthy romantic relationships.

Recruiting and retaining sexual and gender minority couples in intervention research: Lessons learned from trials of tailored relationship education programs

Relationship interventions, including healthy relationship education, couple therapy, and dyadic approaches to treating mental and physical health issues, hold promise for promoting relationship and individual health among sexual and gender minority (SGM) populations. Because SGM couples live within a context of societal stigma against their minority identities and relationships, they are likely to be best served by targeted, culturally sensitive relationship interventions that are affirming, free of hetero- and cis-normativity, and address the unique stigma-based challenges that they face. Therefore, a key goal for the field today is to conduct research evaluating and refining newly developed relationship interventions designed specifically for SGM couples. In this paper, we offer recommendations for effectively recruiting and retaining large, diverse samples of SGM couples for clinical trials of tailored relationship interventions, grounded in guidelines for psychological practice and conducting research with SGM populations. Throughout, we offer examples and lessons learned from our experiences conducting clinical trials of tailored SGM relationship education programs. We encourage the use of recruitment and retention strategies that involve members of the target SGM community from the outset, are informed by knowledge about SGM individuals and relationships, use currently preferred language for individual identities and relationships, attend to issues of confidentiality regarding sexual/gender identity or relationship involvement, and adhere to the norms of the particular community and recruitment venue.

Utilizing Latent Class Analysis to Assess the Association of Intersectional Stigma on Mental Health Outcomes Among Young Adult Black, Indigenous, and Sexual Minority Women of Color

Purpose: Discrimination has detrimental effects on mental health, particularly among Black, Indigenous, and people of color who are also sexual minority women (BIPOC SMW); however, measurement of multiple intersecting forms of discrimination (e.g., race, gender, and sexual identity discrimination among BIPOC SMW) poses methodological challenges. This analysis uses latent class analysis (LCA) to examine the influences of discrimination on mental health in a convenience sample of BIPOC SMW. Methods: Online survey data from BIPOC SMW aged 18-29 years (n = 324) were used to estimate latent classes for discrimination type (race, gender, and sexual identity). Data for this study were collected from July to October 2018. Adjusted linear regressions examined the influences of discrimination profiles on perceived stress and depressive symptoms. Results: Utilizing LCA, the following four classes emerged: (1) low discrimination; (2) mid-level discrimination; (3) high racial, medium gender, and low sexual identity discrimination; (4) high discrimination. Classes 3 and 4 were positively associated with perceived stress and depressive symptoms relative to Class 1 in adjusted models. Conclusion: This analysis highlights the importance of intersectionality and the adverse impact of multiple forms of discrimination on mental health outcomes for BIPOC SMW. Respondents reporting higher levels of racial or multiple forms of discrimination had poorer mental health outcomes. LCA is a promising analytical tool for investigating intersectional stigma and discrimination. There is an urgent need to develop tailored, culturally appropriate intersectional mental health interventions to address the multiple identities and oppressions faced by BIPOC SMW.

Recent developments in research with bisexual women

This article is organised into sections that explore three key themes. The first is overarching and cuts across the literature, where within recent bisexuality research there has been increased inclusion of those whose identities are defined by attraction to multiple genders (e.g., pansexual, queer, and others). This has sometimes been in the form of an amalgamated bisexual+ category, but recent attention has also been given to definitions of bisexuality and pansexuality and how bisexual and pansexual identities might compare. The second theme explores mental health including substance use/abuse and sexual violence/victimisation. The third section notes that there has, to some extent, also been an interest in bipositivity and positive aspects of bisexual identification.