Sexual minority individuals are at increased risk for negative health outcomes relative to heterosexual individuals (Meyer, 2003), and accumulating evidence indicates experience the greatest burden (for a review, see Feinstein & Dyar, 2017). These health disparities are due, in large part, to stigma-related stressors (e.g., discrimination; Meyer), and bisexual individuals experience unique stressors that gay/lesbian individuals do not, such as "dual-sourced" discrimination" (i.e., discrimination from both heterosexual and gay/lesbian individuals; Brewster & Moradi, 2010; Mohr & Rochlen, 1999). There is some evidence that bisexual individuals also experience unique stressors in the context of their romantic relationships, such as pressure from their partners to change their self-identified sexual orientation to reflect the gender pairing of their current relationship (e.g., to identify as gay/lesbian while in a same-gender relationship or heterosexual while in a different-gender relationship). However, little is known about this unique stressor. To address this, the current study examined bisexual individuals' experiences with changing their self-identified sexual orientation because of the gender of their partner and pressure from their partner.

Last modified

• 01/14/2021

Creator

• Christina Dyar
• Jeremy Jabbour
• Brian A. Feinstein
• Joanne Davila

DOI

• https://doi.org/10.21985/n2-13rm-bg09

Subject

• Psychology

Publisher

• Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies

Language

• English

Keyword

• Stigma
• Relationship
• Bisexuality

Source

• The Behavior Therapist

Rights statement

• In Copyright