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Young bisexual women face unique social pressures that can shape their mental health in both positive and negative ways. Research published in the International Journal of Sexual Health reveals that insecure relationship patterns predict increases in psychological distress and reductions in overall well-being over time for this demographic. The findings emphasize that evaluating mental health requires looking beyond the mere presence of distress to also consider what helps people thrive.
Traditional models of mental health have historically operated on a medical framework that defines wellness simply as the absence of mental illness. Psychologists have increasingly adopted an alternative approach known as a dual-perspective model. This framework treats psychological distress and positive well-being as distinct dimensions of human experience. A person might experience symptoms of depression while still maintaining a strong sense of life purpose, or they might lack psychological distress but still feel deeply unfulfilled.
Bisexual women often report elevated levels of psychological distress compared to heterosexual individuals and other sexual minority groups. Sociologists attribute this vulnerability to unique forms of stigma known as minority stress. Bisexual individuals frequently face discrimination from the heterosexual majority and simultaneously encounter invalidation from within the broader LGBTQ community. This dual marginalization can be especially intense during a person’s late teens and twenties, a developmental period when young adults are navigating major life transitions and exploring their identities.
To understand how these social pressures affect mental health, psychologists often look to attachment theory. This theory describes how early relationships shape the way people connect emotionally with others throughout their lives. Adults generally exhibit patterns of attachment that fall along two dimensions of insecurity. Attachment anxiety involves a fear of abandonment and a strong need for validation, while attachment avoidance is characterized by emotional distancing and a reluctance to trust others.
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Jennifer Marín and Mónica Guzmán-González, psychologists at the Universidad Católica del Norte in Chile, wanted to understand how these attachment styles relate to mental health in young bisexual women. They noted that previous research has mostly focused on negative mental health outcomes among sexual minorities as a broad group. By focusing specifically on young bisexual women, the researchers aimed to capture the distinct effects of attachment insecurity on both distress and positive well-being over time.
To investigate these dynamics, the researchers recruited 253 cisgender bisexual women in Chile between the ages of 18 and 29. Cisgender refers to individuals whose gender identity aligns with the sex they were assigned at birth. The participants completed an initial online survey that assessed their adult attachment patterns. The survey included questions designed to measure both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance in close relationships.
In the same survey, the participants answered questions about their psychological distress, reporting on symptoms of depression and anxiety experienced over the previous two weeks. They also completed an extensive measure of well-being. This well-being assessment captured subjective happiness, life satisfaction, and social integration. One year after the initial survey, the participants completed the same measures of distress and well-being a second time.
At the beginning of the study, the participants reported moderate levels of both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance. They also reported moderate levels of psychological distress alongside relatively high levels of overall well-being. The researchers found that distress and well-being were moderately and negatively correlated. This inverse relationship supported the dual-perspective framework, indicating that distress and well-being are related but fundamentally distinct dimensions of a person’s mental health.
The initial survey data showed that attachment insecurity was linked to worse outcomes across the board. Participants who scored higher in attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance also reported higher levels of psychological distress. At the same time, these individuals reported lower levels of positive well-being.
The researchers then looked at the data collected a year later to see if initial attachment styles predicted changes in mental health over time. They controlled for the participants’ baseline levels of distress and well-being to isolate the effect of the attachment patterns. When looking at psychological distress, only attachment avoidance predicted an increase in symptoms. Higher initial levels of attachment anxiety did not have a statistically significant effect on future psychological distress once the baseline levels were taken into account.
The results for positive well-being showed a different pattern. Both attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance at the start of the study predicted reductions in well-being one year later. The statistical models explained a much larger portion of the variance in well-being than they did for psychological distress. The researchers noted that insecure attachment styles appear to exert a stronger and more persistent negative effect on a person’s ability to maintain positive psychological resources.
The findings suggest that emotional distancing strategies might act as an initial defense mechanism against stigma, but they eventually erode a person’s mental health. Repeated exposure to discrimination or invalidation may reinforce an avoidant attachment style. Over time, this reluctance to trust others can leave individuals more vulnerable to distress and less capable of sustaining the social connections needed for positive well-being.
The study relies on self-reported data, which can occasionally introduce bias if participants misjudge their own symptoms or behaviors. The research tracked participants across two time points separated by one year. While this design allows researchers to observe changes over time, it restricts their ability to chart longer developmental trajectories. The two-wave design also limits the ability to identify reciprocal effects where poor mental health might cause subsequent changes in a person’s attachment style.
Generalizing these findings to other populations requires caution. The experiences of young bisexual women in Chile are shaped by specific cultural and social contexts that might not apply to individuals in other countries. The results may also not map perfectly onto the experiences of older adults, transgender individuals, or people with different sexual orientations. Future research will need to examine these dynamics across a broader range of communities to see if the patterns hold true.
The researchers suggest that mental health interventions for marginalized groups should focus heavily on building attachment security. Creating supportive environments that foster trust and emotional regulation could help young bisexual women manage psychological distress. Fostering these secure connections might also help them build the lasting emotional resources required to thrive.
The study, “Attachment and Mental Health in Bisexual Women During Emerging Adulthood: A Dual-Perspective,” was authored by Jennifer Marín and Mónica Guzmán-González.
