Different Categorizations of Women's Sexual Orientation Reveal Unique Health Outcomes in a Nationally Representative U.S. Sample

A Multidimensional Understanding of the Relationship between Sexual Identity, Heteronormativity, and Sexual Satisfaction among a Cisgender Sample

“…When a person does not fit a heteronormative model, heteronormativity can push them to engage in interactions (e.g., sexual interactions) that are less consistent with who one is or refrain from sexual interactions altogether (e.g., Knight et al 2012;Mark et al 2018;Muñoz-Laboy et al 2014). This can undermine health and well-being and appears to be a gendered experience, meaning one's attraction (vs. identity label) plays an important role (e.g., Feinstein et al 2023;Salomaa et al 2023).…”

“…That is, identity is more nuanced than a single, essentialized label (Meyer and Elias 2023). Furthermore, there is some research that suggests more within group variation compared to that found between groups and studies using only one dimension would likely miss these variations in effects (Fish and Russell 2018;Salomaa et al 2023). Such potential bias can hide many types of disparities and their correlates, especially given the dynamic and fluid nature of sexuality not captured by identity when measured using sexual orientation labels alone (e.g., Kaestle 2019;Kinnish et al 2005;Wolff et al 2017).…”

“…Such potential bias can hide many types of disparities and their correlates, especially given the dynamic and fluid nature of sexuality not captured by identity when measured using sexual orientation labels alone (e.g., Kaestle 2019;Kinnish et al 2005;Wolff et al 2017). Research supports these assertions as findings tend to vary across studies based on whether they use attraction, orientation, or behavior (e.g., Mustanski et al 2014;Paul Poteat et al 2019;Salomaa et al 2023). To address these gaps and mixed findings, this study examined how heteronormativity partially mediates the link between sexual attraction and sexual satisfaction and how sexual orientation moderates this link, thereby accounting for interactions between two dimensions of sexual identity (orientation and attraction).…”

The relationship between self-rated gender expression and exclusively heterosexual identification among individuals who report same-sex attractions or sexual practices.

“…For research about how health outcomes related to "discordance" vary by gender identity, seeAndresen et al (2022),Caplan (2017),Gattis et al (2012),Krueger and Upchurch (2019),Lourie and Needham (2017),McCabe et al (2020),Mendelsohn et al (2022),Nield et al (2015) andSalomaa et al (2023).2 The other approximately 30 percent of participants were recruited via nonrandom techniques, including an invitation to apply for the panel on Leger's website. SILVA…”

“…1For research about how health outcomes related to “discordance” vary by gender identity, see Andresen et al (2022), Caplan (2017), Gattis et al (2012), Krueger and Upchurch (2019), Lourie and Needham (2017), McCabe et al (2020), Mendelsohn et al (2022), Nield et al (2015) and Salomaa et al (2023).…”