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ViewAttendees 5

Symposia

LGBTQ+

Understanding the unmet mental health needs of bisexual, pansexual, and queer (bi+) youth and adults

3 - (SYM 107) Associations Between Anti-bisexual Discrimination from Heterosexual versus Lesbian/gay Sources and Depression, Anxiety, and Psychological Distress: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Saturday, November 16, 2024
4:30 PM – 6:00 PM EST
Location: Franklin 8, Level 4, Downtown Marriott
Abstract Body
Previous meta-analyses have shown that bisexual people are disproportionately more affected by depression, anxiety, and psychological distress compared to their monosexual counterparts (Ross et al., 2018; Wittgens et al., 2022). These disparities have been theorized to be, in part, the result of anti-bisexual discrimination. Anti-bisexual discrimination may come from heterosexual and from lesbian/gay sources, both of which are associated with poorer mental health (Brewster & Moradi, 2010; Dyar et al., 2019). It remains unclear, however, to what extent the strength of the association differs by the source of the discrimination. This study is the first meta-analysis to provide a comprehensive quantitative synthesis of the associations between anti-bisexual discrimination from heterosexual versus lesbian/gay sources and bisexual people’s depression, anxiety, and psychological distress. We synthesized findings from 22 studies (including 11 unpublished studies) of 7,314 participants. Small but significant source effects were observed. Specifically, anti-bisexual discrimination was significantly associated with symptoms of depression, anxiety, and psychological distress, but the associations were significantly stronger for anti-bisexual discrimination from heterosexual sources compared to lesbian/gay sources. In support of a cumulative exposure explanation, these source effects were significantly larger in magnitude in studies where participants reported more anti-bisexual discrimination from heterosexual sources. Findings were robust to a range of possible study and participant-related moderators. Given the pervasiveness of anti-bisexual stigma, interventions are needed to address discrimination against bisexual people, especially from heterosexual sources, and its impact on mental health.