Assessing Bisexual Stigma and Mental Health Status: A Brief Report

Abstract

Bisexual women often report higher rates of depression and mental health problems than their heterosexual and lesbian counterparts. These disparities likely occur, in part, as a result of the unique stigma that bisexual women face and experience. Such stigma can in turn operate as a stressor, thereby contributing to poor mental health status. This pilot study tested a new measure of bisexual stigma and its association with mental health. Results suggest a moderate positive correlation between the two and point to areas for future consideration when measuring bisexual stigma.

KEYWORDS:

• bisexual women
• stigma
• mental health
• depression

Acknowledgments

This research was supported in part by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (T32DA07267). The author would like to thank Christine Shaw for her assistance with the study in Chicago, IL, and Emily Kuhnen for her assistance in the preparation of this manuscript. In addition, the author thanks all of the participants in the Women's and Health Identity Study, who willingly gave their time, making this research possible.