Bi Health

According to research published by various non-profit organizations and clinical researchers, bisexual people face significant negative markers in their health and well-being, which are often greater than those of gay and lesbian people. These include negative experiences in K-12 schools and post-secondary institutions; increased likelihood of substance abuse, mental health and physical health conditions, and sexual violence, as well as discrimination in immigration services and in the workplace. These sources seek to visiblize these barriers to bisexual people’s wellbeing and posit solutions to ameliorate and eliminate them.

• Alexander, K. A., Volpe, E. M., Abboud, S., & Campbell, J. C. (2016). Reproductive coercion, sexual risk behaviours and mental health symptoms among young low-income behaviourally bisexual women: implications for nursing practice. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 25(23-24), 3533-3544. https://doi.org/10.1111/jocn.13238
• Bisexual Resource Center. (n.d.). Mental health in the bi+ community. https://biresource.org/mental-health/
• Blum, D. (2021, July 6). The ‘double closet’: Why some bisexual people struggle with mental health. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/30/well/bisexual-mental-health-lgbt.html
• Calzo, J. P., Mays, V. M., Björkenstam, C., Björkenstam, E., Kosidou, K., & Cochran, S. D. (2019). Parental sexual orientation and children’s psychological well-being: 2013-2015 national health interview survey. Child Development, 90(4), 1097–1108. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12989
• Carrotte, E. R., Vella, A. M., Bowring, A. L., Douglass, C., Hellard, M. E., & Lim, M. S. (2016). “I am yet to encounter any survey that actually reflects my life”: a qualitative study of inclusivity in sexual health research. BMC Medical Research Methodology, 16, 86. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12874-016-0193-4
• Dominguez, M. L. (2017). LGBTQIA people of color: Utilizing the cultural psychology model as a guide for the mental health assessment and treatment of patients with diverse identities. Journal of Gay & Lesbian Mental Health, 21(3), 203–220. https://doi.org/10.1080/19359705.2017.1320755
• Feinstein, B. A., & Dyar, C. (2017). Bisexuality, minority stress, and health. Current sexual health reports, 9(1), 42–49. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11930-017-0096-3
• Flanders, C. E., Dobinson, C., & Logie, C. (2015). “I’m never really my full self”: Young bisexual women’s perceptions of their mental health. Journal of Bisexuality, 15(4), 454–480. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2015.1079288
• Human Rights Campaign Foundation. (n.d.). Health disparities among bisexual people. https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/HRC-BiHealthBrief.pdf?_ga=2.39286179.1872529615.1690564163-336718705.1690564163
• Human Rights Campaign Foundation. (2019). 2019 bi+ youth report. https://hrc-prod-requests.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/files/images/resources/HRC-2019-Bi-Youth-_Report.pdf
• Johnson, H. J. (2016). Bisexuality, mental health, and media representation. Journal of Bisexuality, 16(3), 378–396. https://doi.org/10.1080/15299716.2016.1168335
• Movement Advancement Project. (2016). Invisible majority: The disparities facing bisexual people and how to remedy them. https://www.lgbtmap.org/file/invisible-majority.pdf
• Movement Advancement Project. (2017). A closer look: Bisexual transgender people. https://www.lgbtmap.org/file/A%20Closer%20Look%20Bisexual%20Transgender.pdf
• Naser, N. (2021, August 31). Bisexual erasure and stigma are still too real. 26Health. https://26health.org/bisexual-erasure-and-stigma-are-still-too-real/
• Smalley, K. B., Warren, J. C., & Barefoot, K. N. (2016). Differences in health risk behaviors across understudied LGBT subgroups. Health Psychology, 35(2), 103–114. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0000231
• Still Bisexual. (n.d.). Bisexual identity & health: The facts. https://stillbi.org/bisexual-identity-health/
• Still Bisexual. (n.d.). A guide for mental health clinicians. https://stillbi.org/a-guide-for-mental-health-clinicians/
• Still Bisexual. (n.d.). #Out4MentalHealth. https://stillbi.org/out4mentalhealth/