Wednesday, August 20, 2008

More evidence that bisexuals have problems: Using General Social Survey data, I have shown that bisexuals seem to engage in more troubling behavior than other sexual orientations. The Longitudinal Study of Violence Against Women asked 1,159 female college students if they had an abortion in the past year. Here are the percent who said yes by sexual orientation:


Percent of women having an abortion in the past year

Straight 2.9
Lesbian 0.0
Bisexual 5.9

This is more support for the "troubled bisexual" hypothesis. Bisexual women are more likely to abort a child even though you would expect that some of their partners would be unable to get them pregnant. Actually, they do have more total partners. (By the way, I've also reported a pattern of less psychological health with those who are very unsure about their belief in God. Atheists and those who are certain of God's existence seem healthiest--at least in some ways. Problematic behavior seems to accompany ambivalence. This reminds me of Durkheim who wrote that questioning everything is an unhealthy condition.)

These results also make me more pro-lesbian: they don't have abortions.

7 comments:

  1. What percentage identified themselves as straight/lesbian/bisexual?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mixed black-white and Asian-white adolescents also have more psychological problems by a number of measures than those with mono-cultural identity.

    http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/12/the-plight-of-mixed-race-children/
    http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/uoc--baa081108.php

    Less ambiguous identity, or stronger asabiya, appears to lead to stronger psychological health.

    This is true for ethnic affiliation, sexual orientation, religious belief, and political belief (those who are strong conservative and strong liberal are the happiest).

    http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/the-politics-of-happiness-part-4/

    ReplyDelete
  3. Anonymous2:27 PM

    5.9 to 2.9 is a BIG difference. Dayum!!!!


    Youre onto something here......

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous6:38 PM

    We're missing something obvious here, though: lesbian sex can't get you pregnant.

    What's your opinion on contraception? Might be interesting to see how many bi women use that.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Anonymous10:35 PM

    Bisexuals of either sex are more likely to report childhood mistreatment in its many levels than homosexuals and heterosexuals.

    Borderline Personality Disorder, which is, very basically speaking, a mental affliction caused by diffused identity, also is correlated with similar kinds of negative experiences.

    My guess is that identity diffusion, being unsure how to define one's own personhood, preferences, etc., is present in at least some bisexual individuals, and is perhaps caused by negative early contacts.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Anonymous6:05 AM

    In the book "The Man Who Would Be Queen" the writer cites a study which actually denies that bisexuality exists. The bottomline was that you're either straight or gay, no other way around it.

    So, those who identiy as bisexual might indeed be more confused.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Anonymous8:29 PM

    Jason,

    For informational purposes:

    1. Do you have a cite for psych problems among white-Asian children?

    2. If so, does the study distinguish between northeast Asian ancestry and southeast Asian ancestry?

    ReplyDelete

Are gun owners mentally ill?

  Some anti-gun people think owning a gun is a sign of some kind of mental abnormality. According to General Social Survey data, gun owners ...