Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Lethbridge, AB, T1K 3M4, Canada.
Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON, Canada.
Arch Sex Behav. 2018 May;47(4):1173-1182. doi: 10.1007/s10508-017-1099-x. Epub 2017 Oct 26.
Previous studies examining the associations between women's sexual orientation and mental health have obtained inconsistent results. Whereas some studies have suggested that status as a lesbian or bisexual woman may be associated with greater mental health risk, others have suggested that bisexual women may be specifically vulnerable to mental health problems. The current study examined two competing models in a non-clinical sample of Canadian women (N = 278). The first model predicted that women who reported bisexual attraction would endorse more indicators of depression and anxiety compared to women who reported monosexuality (either same- or opposite-sex attraction). The second model predicted that women who reported relatively greater same-sex attraction would exhibit elevated indicators of depression and anxiety compared to women who reported opposite-sex attraction. Consistent with Model 1, greater bisexual attraction predicted greater endorsement of indicators of depression and anxiety compared to greater same-sex or opposite-sex attraction. These findings suggest that, in women, bisexuality may be associated with higher risk of depression and anxiety than monosexuality. Future research may benefit from exploring risk factors potentially unique to the mental health of bisexual women.
先前研究考察了女性性取向与心理健康之间的关联，结果并不一致。一些研究表明，女同性恋或双性恋女性的身份可能与更大的心理健康风险相关，而另一些研究则表明，双性恋女性可能特别容易受到心理健康问题的影响。本研究在一个非临床的加拿大女性样本（N=278）中检验了两种相互竞争的模型。第一种模型预测，报告双性吸引的女性与报告单一性吸引（同性或异性吸引）的女性相比，会更多地认同抑郁和焦虑的指标。第二种模型预测，报告相对较大的同性吸引力的女性与报告异性吸引力的女性相比，会表现出更高的抑郁和焦虑指标。与模型 1 一致，与更大的同性或异性吸引力相比，更大的双性吸引预示着更多的抑郁和焦虑指标的认同。这些发现表明，在女性中，双性恋可能比单一性恋与更高的抑郁和焦虑风险相关。未来的研究可能受益于探索可能对双性恋女性心理健康具有独特性的风险因素。
