Author

Marisa Mango

Date of Award

January 2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Counseling Psychology & Community Services

First Advisor

Rachel L. Navarro

Abstract

Research conducted on sexual minority stress for adolescents has contributed to bisexual invisibility by collectively sampling and analyzing data from lesbian, gay, and bisexual populations, despite recent studies acknowledging statistical differences between bisexual and lesbian/gay experiences (Conlin et al., 2017; Frost et al., 2015; Mason & Lewis, 2016; Mohr & Sarno, 2016). We examined the temporal relations within Meyers (2003) Sexual Minority Stress model of sexual minority processes related to proximal and distal stressors in a sample of 306 bisexual adolescents. They completed measures of sexual minority stress, LGB specific coping, anxiety, and depression. Using path analytic analyses, the findings supported the model where: (a) sexual minority stress predicted anxiety, (b) sexual minority stress predicted depression, (e) LGB coping did not buffer the relationship between sexual minority stress and anxiety and depression, (f) relations in the model differed among gender; therefore, gender was a covariate during primary analyses. Implications for future research and practice are discussed. Keywords: Sexual Minority Stress, Bisexuality, Depression, Anxiety, Adolescent

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