Reasons Lesbian and Bisexual Adolescent Girls Have or Might Have Sex with Females or Males

Implications for Discordance between Sexual Identity and Behaviors and for Prevention of Pregnancy and STIs

Bibliographic Data

ID10205993
AuthorsMargaret Rosario (0000-0002-2316-912X, Department of Psychology, The City University of New York—City College and Graduate Center, corresponding author), Carol Goodenow (Independent Research/Evaluation Consultant), Michele L Ybarra (0000-0001-9127-7440, Center for Innovative Public Health Research), Michele Ybarra (Center for Innovative Public Health Research), Elizabeth Saewyc (0000-0002-1625-9506, University of British Columbia), Tonya L Prescott (0000-0002-6861-379X, Center for Innovative Public Health Research), Tonya Prescott (Center for Innovative Public Health Research)
Year2020
Volume57
Issue8
Pages966-978
Publication date2020-05-19
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Journal of Sex Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0022-4499 • E-ISSN: 1559-8519
PublisherTaylor & Francis (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00224499.2020.1753638
PMID32425068
OpenAlexW3026141125
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited70

We examined reasons lesbian and bisexual adolescent girls have sex or, if sexually inexperienced, might have sex with girls or boys, and the role of internalized homonegativity in these relations and among lesbians. Girls were recruited online and classified as lesbian ( n = 129) or bisexual ( n = 193); the classification was validated. Love and pleasure were common reasons for having sex with girls, although more lesbian girls (LG) than bisexual girls (BG) endorsed love. BG, relative to LG, had sex with girls because they were curious or wanted to verify their sexual identity. Love and pleasure were motives for having sex with boys for BG. They were common reasons for potentially having sex with either sex among sexually inexperienced girls, but both were more likely for BG than LG for sex with boys. Internalized homonegativity did not mediate the relation between sexual identity and reasons for sex, but LG just with male partners were more homonegative than LG just with female partners. The findings indicate that LG and BG should not be combined into a single group, provide insights into the discordance between sexual identity and behaviors, and have implications for reducing risk for pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections among sexual minority girls

Developmental psychology · Homosexuality · Human sexuality · Identity (music · Lesbian · Pleasure · Sexual identity · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Clinical Psychology · Gender Studies · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Sexuality, Behavior, and Technology

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