Mental health of the bisexual Veteran

Despite evidence showing that bisexual individuals may be at greater risk for mental health issues than lesbian and gay individuals, they are often combined into a single group, with lesbian and gay individuals the actual focus of the research. This study aims to address this gap in the literature among US Veterans. Using data collected from a multicity purposive sample (N = 4,493), logistic regression was used to analyze whether the following groups differ in current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression: (a) bisexual (n = 101) vs. heterosexual Veterans (n = 4,271); (b) bisexual vs. lesbian/gay Veterans (n = 121); (c) lesbian/gay vs. heterosexual Veterans; and (d) combined group of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB; n = 222) vs. heterosexual Veterans. Controlling for significant covariates, bisexual Veterans had 2.5 times the risk of severe depression (95% confidence interval CI] = 1.34–4.67; p = 0.004) and 2.3 times the odds of PTSD (95% CI = 1.40–3.77; p = 0.001) relative to heterosexual Veterans. Bisexual Veterans had 3 times the risk of severe depression (95% CI = 1.22–7.44; p = 0.017) and 1.9 times the risk of PTSD (95% CI = 1.02–3.70; p = 0.045) compared to lesbian/gay Veterans. Lesbian/gay Veterans had no significant difference in risk for depression compared to heterosexual Veterans. However, the combined group of LGB Veterans had 1.6 times the odds of PTSD (95% CI = 1.12–2.15; p = 0.008) compared to heterosexual Veterans. These findings suggest that past research showing mental health disparities between LGB and heterosexual individuals may be driven by the inclusion of bisexual individuals. Research should assess bisexual individuals as a distinct group, and future studies should explore factors leading to depression and PTSD among bisexual Veterans.