Symposia
LGBQT+
Paddy Loftus, PhD
University of South Florida
Tampa, Florida
Fallon R. Goodman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL
Christina Dyar, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
The Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
Joanne Davila, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook, New York
Brian Feinstein, Ph.D. (he/him/his)
Associate Professor
Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
N. Chicago, Illinois
Bisexual, pansexual, and queer (bi+) individuals face unique identity-related stressors (e.g., insinuations that they are “confused” about their identity) that may impact their attitudes toward their sexual identity. Nearly all research, however, has examined bi+ identity uncertainty using global questionnaires, which assume identity staticity. Measuring identity uncertainty each day can clarify temporal relationships with daily experiences and mental health.
The present investigation examines trait (internalized binegativity) and daily (anti-bisexual discrimination) predictors of identity uncertainty; bidirectional relationships between daily identity uncertainty and mental health (e.g., depression, affect); and how these experiences may differ for persons with additional marginalized identities (e.g., transgender/gender diverse [TGD]; BIPOC).
Participants were 208 bi+ individuals (32.2% TGD; 27.9% BIPOC) who completed a baseline survey and a 28-day experience-sampling study. We first examined trait predictors of identity uncertainty. Older participants reported less identity uncertainty than younger participants, but identity uncertainty did not differ by racial/ethnic or gender identity. Participants who reported more internalized binegativity experienced greater daily identity uncertainty.
On days when participants experienced anti-bisexual discrimination, they reported elevated identity uncertainty. Contrary to hypotheses, identity uncertainty did not predict next-day depression, anxiety, or positive/negative affect. However, greater depression and negative affect did predict decreased next-day identity uncertainty. Relationships did not differ across gender or racial/ethnic identities.
Findings provide empirical support for the impact of discrimination and mental health symptoms on indentity uncertainty but fail to establish a linkage between bi+ identity uncertainty and subsequent mental health problems. Future research can explore how other daily experiences (e.g., stressful social interactions) influence identity uncertainty and exacerbate mental health symptoms.