The Relations Among Outness, Authenticity, and Well Being for Bisexual Adults

Abstract

Outness, a proximal minority stressor for sexual minority people, demonstrated inconsistent relationships with well-being. A possible explanation for these varied findings is that characteristics of one’s sexual minority identity (e.g. identity prominence) moderate the relationship between proximal stressors and mental health outcomes. Newly studied, authenticity may be considered a characteristic of sexual minority identity and thereby influence the outness-well-being relationship. Additionally, a majority of research has examined the influence of minority stressors on the experiences of lesbians and gay men, and few studies have investigated the unique experiences of bisexual individuals. The present study examined the influence of outness (as a sexual minority and specifically as bisexual) and authenticity on bisexual adults’ well-being, and whether authenticity moderated or mediated the relationship between outness and well-being. Four-hundred and fifty bisexual participants completed an online survey. Regression analyses revealed that bisexual disclosure positively predicted well-being when controlling for sexual minority disclosure, whereas bisexual concealment did not predict well-being when controlling for sexual minority concealment. Authenticity partially mediated the relationship between bisexual disclosure and well-being, and it mediated the relationship between bisexual concealment and well-being. Authenticity did not moderate either the relationship between bisexual disclosure and well-being, nor the relationship between bisexual concealment and well-being. Results further our understanding of bisexual individuals’ mental health, particularly in regards to the influence of bisexual disclosure and concealment.