A study conducted by a U.S. university has
claimed that bisexual women are more likely to binge-drink and
suffer depression than their male counterparts.
George Mason University - a public university
based in unincorporated Fairfax County, Virginia - conducted
research which found that although depression risks were
generally higher for bi men and women during their teenage years,
the odds reduce for males as they age.
Bisexual women are also more likely to binge-drink throughout
their lives, it claims.
Published in the American Journal of Public Health, the study
used three different dimensions of sexuality - identity, behavior
and attraction - to see how they linked with health problems.
Researchers found that women who are strictly identified as
straight or gay didn't have the same risk factors of depression as
those who were attracted to both sexes, the Huffington Post
report.
The bisexual participants said that they felt "invisible".
"There tends to be this expectation or standard that a person
picks one sexual identity and sticks with it. I think there's a lot
of misunderstanding about bisexuals. I think their risk has a lot
more to do with stigma," lead researcher Lisa Lindly said.
Conversely, Bisexual men didn't report any feelings of
depression or urges to binge drink.
