Disclosure, minority stress, and mental health among bisexual, pansexual, and queer (bi+) adults: The roles of primary sexual identity and multiple sexual identity label use.

Abstract

Bisexual people are at increased risk for anxiety and depression compared to heterosexual and gay/lesbian people, but little is known about people who use other labels to describe attractions to more than one gender (e.g., pansexual, queer; collectively "bi+"). In addition, some people use more than one label to describe their sexual orientation, but research has yet to examine whether using one versus multiple labels is associated with identity-related experiences or mental health. To address these gaps, we explored potential differences in disclosure, minority stress, and mental health among bi+ adults based on primary sexual identity and multiple label use. As part of a larger project, 669 bi+ adults completed an online survey. Primary sexual identities included bisexual (53.2%), pansexual (26.3%), and queer (20.5%), and 55.2% used multiple labels. Compared to bisexual participants, pansexual participants reported higher disclosure, discrimination from heterosexual people, and depression. Pansexual participants also reported higher anxiety and lower internalized binegativity, but these associations became non-significant after adjusting for demographics. Queer participants reported higher disclosure, discrimination from heterosexual people, and anxiety, but only the difference in disclosure remained significant in adjusting analyses. Finally, participants who used multiple labels reported higher disclosure and discrimination from heterosexual and gay/lesbian people, but only the difference in discrimination from gay/lesbian people remained significant in adjusted analyses. Findings highlight the heterogeneity of bi+ individuals and the importance of considering bisexual, pansexual, and queer individuals as unique groups as well as considering whether bi+ individuals use one or multiple sexual identity labels.