Anxiety Related to Nonerotic Cognitive Distractions During Sexual Activity in Lesbian, Bisexual, and Heterosexual Women

Abstract

The authors recruited 25 bisexual, 25 lesbian, and 25 heterosexual college women to determine whether group differences exist in anxiety related to nonerotic cognitive distractions during sexual activity, as well as in variables contributing to the prediction of anxiety. Participants completed questionnaires assessing anxiety related to nonerotic cognitive distractions during sexual activity, as well as additional variables (e.g., religiosity and self-esteem). Bisexual women reported significantly greater disease-related anxiety than lesbians, and heterosexual women reported significantly greater anxiety pertaining to emotional/external concerns than bisexuals. In other analyses, lesbians had significantly more positive attitudes toward sex than did the bisexuals, and heterosexuals reported higher levels of religiosity than lesbians. Finally, bisexuals had higher levels of internalized heterosexism than lesbians, a level not significantly different from the level of the (by definition, noninternalized) heterosexism among the heterosexuals. Additional analyses clarified the multivariate relationships among these variables.

KEYWORDS:

• bisexuality
• lesbianism
• women
• sexuality
• anxiety