Attitudes Toward Bisexuality and Other Beliefs and Attitudes Related to Sexual Fluidity in Attractions among Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Young Adults

Abstract

This study examined associations between sexual fluidity in attractions and related beliefs and attitudes among sexual minority and heterosexual young adults. Two college and community-based samples who completed an online survey were combined to yield 421 young adults (224 women, 188 men, 7 transgender, and 2 another gender), ages 18–26 years. Two hypothesized models were tested, one with sexual fluidity in attractions as the outcome of related beliefs and attitudes, and one with sexual fluidity in attractions as the predictor of related beliefs and attitudes. Results indicated that sexuality origin beliefs significantly predicted entity/incremental (E/I) views of sexual orientation among sexual minority women and men and heterosexual men, but not sexual fluidity in attractions among any of the groups. E/I views of sexual orientation predicted sexual fluidity in attractions for heterosexual women and men but in the opposite direction from what was hypothesized. Attitudes toward bisexuality significantly predicted sexual fluidity in attractions for sexual minority women only. Sexual fluidity in attractions significantly predicted E/I views of sexual orientation and attitudes toward bisexuality but only among sexual minority women. This study highlights the complexity of sexual fluidity and related beliefs and attitudes among sexual minority and heterosexual individuals.

Keywords:

• attitudes
• beliefs
• bisexuality
• sexual fluidity
• sexual orientation

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank Eli Godwin, Courtney Brown, and David Pletta for their help with this manuscript, and a special thank you to the participants who contributed data to this study.