Abstract
We examined associations among 3 dimensions of sexual orientation (identity, attraction, and behavior) and sleep disturbance among young adults in the United States. Using Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (respondents aged 24–32, N = 14,334), we ran multivariate logistic regressions to estimate the probability of reporting trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, and short sleep duration, based on specific sexual orientation categories.Results after controlling for mental health indicate that these categories are more likely to have trouble falling asleep: women who identify as “bisexual” (OR = 1.85, CI: 1.21,2.82), women attracted to “both sexes” (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.00,1.72), women who have had “mostly opposite sex” partners (OR = 1.40, CI: 1.10,1.77), and men who have had “mostly same sex” partners (OR = 2.28, CI: 1.21,4.31). For trouble staying asleep: women who identify as “bisexual” (OR = 1.48, CI: 1.01,2.18), men and women attracted to “both sexes” (OR = 1.81, CI: 1.12,2.91; OR = 1.27, CI: 1.00,1.60), and women who have had “mostly opposite sex partners” (OR = 1.38, CI: 1.13,1.69). For short sleep duration: women who identify as “mostly straight” or “mostly gay” (OR = 1.27, CI: 1.01,1.60; OR = 2.64, CI: 1.36,5.14), men who identify as “bisexual” (OR = 2.56, CI: 1.26,5.18), women attracted only to “same sex” (OR = 2.42, CI: 1.48,3.96), men attracted to “both sexes” (OR = 1.88, CI: 1.21,2.93), and women who have had “mostly same sex” partners (OR = 4.90, CI: 2.10,11.46). Given the variation in findings, it is necessary to analyze each sexual orientation dimension and the categories within each dimension to adequately understand sleep disturbances among sexual minority populations.
Highlights
Sexual orientation has three major dimensions (Badgett and Goldberg, 2009): sexual identity, sexual attraction, and sexual behavior; past work linking sexual orientation to health has often failed to recognize this multidimensionality
We examined associations among 3 dimensions of sexual orientation and sleep disturbance among young adults in the United States
When we look at sexual identity, we find that 93.4% of men identified as “straight,” compared to 79.6% of women
Summary
Sexual orientation has three major dimensions (Badgett and Goldberg, 2009): sexual identity, sexual attraction, and sexual behavior; past work linking sexual orientation to health has often failed to recognize this multidimensionality. This may stem from lack of available data, as few large-scale surveys include questions regarding each dimension. Of this past work, most have found sexual minority status to be disadvantageous to both mental and physical health (Meyer and Northridge, 2007), which is commonly explained by the minority stress model (Meyer, 2003). The way in which sexual orientation is defined and measured has important implications for health research and practice (McCabe, Hughes, Bostwick, and Boyd, 2005)
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