Sexual Minorities’ Psychosexual Adjustment as Reflected in the Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire (MSQ)

Abstract

Sexual minorities are disproportionately likely to experience discrimination and stigma which can influence negative outcomes in both psychological and well as physical health. While this has been clearly established, there is less research examining sexual minorities psychosexual adjustment specifically. This is particularly important considering the stigma that sexual minorities face is particularly related to their sexual attractions and romantic affiliations. Perhaps facing the most stigma are individuals who are bisexual. In the present study, we examined psychological traits associated with sexual relationships, as assessed via the Multidimensional Sexuality Questionnaire (MSQ), among self-identified Bi, Straight, and Gay men and women (total n = 1846). Results showed that, overall, among both men and women, bisexuals demonstrated poorer psychosexual adjustment than did heterosexuals, with gays and lesbians generally falling somewhere in between.

Keywords:

• Sexual orientation
• bisexuality
• psychosexual adjustment

Disclosure statement

No potential competing interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1 In our survey we asked participants to report on both their biological sex (male, female) and their gender identity (male, female, other). While we acknowledge that current approaches prefer the use of male/female for biological sex and man/woman for gender identity, we used the same language for both questions. Respondents were included if they provided their gender identity; it did not matter if their gender identity was the same as or different from their biological sex. Any reference to men/women below is consistent with the current state of the field and reflects the respondent’s answers to the question assessing gender identity.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Jenna Alley

Jenna Alley earned her masters from the University of Utah in 2018. She is now a PhD Candidate at the University of Utah currently working on her dissertation. Her program of research examines the factors shaping sexuality development, sexual behavior, preferences, and dysfunction. Her research is grounded in studying the role of early sexual experiences in shaping later development, and in this respect her work is grounded in evolutionary and developmental theories. Her current research examines the role of reward processing and pleasure in in the connection between early adversity and later sexuality and sexual behavior.

Donald S. Strassberg

Dr. Strassberg received his Ph.D. (Clinical Psychology) from George Peabody College (of Vanderbilt University) in 1975. He has been a Licensed Clinical Psychologist (Utah) since 1977, holds a Diplomate (Clinical) from the American Board of Professional Psychology (since 2002), is a Fellow of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (2012), and a full member of the International Academy of Sex Research. He was a faculty member in the Department of Psychology at the University of Utah from 1975 – 2018 where he currently holds the rank of Professor Emeritus. Dr. Strassberg has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, most in the area of sexuality. Has served on the editorial boards of several major sexology journals, including Archives of Sexual Behavior and the Journal of Sex Research.