Date of Award

January 2013

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

First Advisor

Dorlene Walker

Abstract

Experiences of bisexual and sexual fluid women are poorly explored and understood in the current literature. While there is a need and interest in the exploration of bisexual experiences in the current literature, these experiences are usually lumped together with the experiences of lesbian women, who are vastly overrepresented in the participant samples. Data was collected from LGBT centers, women's centers, bisexual interest listservs, and sexual minority internet groups. This study examined: the relationship between a measure of fluidity in attractions, the Sexual Fluidity Grid (SFG) and a measure of sexual orientation, the Klein Sexual Orientation Grid; the relationship between varying levels of sexual orientation and negative sexual identity on the Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Identity Development scale (LGBIS); the relationships between fluidity in attraction and perceived social and community support on the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) and the Connectedness to the LGBT Community Scale; the goodness of fit of fluidity in attractions with the Bradford Bisexual Identity Development model; and the participants' qualitatively reported definitions of bisexuality. The results indicated two significant relationships between attractions on the SFG and the sexual orientation on the KSOG, and between fluidity in attraction and the significant-other subscale on the MSPSS. Women in this study were generally comfortable with their sexual orientation labels and were active in their sexual minority communities. No other significant relationships were found.

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