Abstract
BackgroundWe used data from a nationally representative sample to compare substance use outcomes among adult women who identified as mostly heterosexual with those who identified as exclusively (only) heterosexual.MethodWe analyzed data from mostly heterosexual women and only heterosexual women in Wave 5 (2001) of the National Study of Health and Life Experiences of Women (weighted n = 1085).ResultsMostly heterosexual women were significantly more likely than only heterosexual women to report every alcohol-related outcome included in our analyses except lifetime treatment. Odds of lifetime and past-year marijuana and cocaine use showed larger differences, with mostly heterosexual women nearly four times as likely as only heterosexual women to report lifetime cocaine use and five times as likely to report past-year use.ConclusionsWe recommend that researchers use measures of sexual identity that include more nuanced response options, and that health care providers learn about the existence, large numbers, and risk/protective factors associated with substance use patterns of mostly heterosexual women.
Highlights
We used data from a nationally representative sample to compare substance use outcomes among adult women who identified as mostly heterosexual with those who identified as exclusively heterosexual
We recommend that researchers use measures of sexual identity that include more nuanced response options, and that health care providers learn about the existence, large numbers, and risk/protective factors associated with substance use patterns of mostly heterosexual women
Women who identify as “mostly heterosexual” make up the largest single group of sexual minority women in studies that allow for this response option; they are generally far greater in number than are lesbian and bisexual respondents combined
Summary
We used data from a nationally representative sample to compare substance use outcomes among adult women who identified as mostly heterosexual with those who identified as exclusively (only) heterosexual. Of the 22 samples represented, only 5 (one being the NSHLEW used in the present paper) included adult women in all stages of the adult life cycle (i.e., not children, adolescents, college students, or young adults only). Among these studies of adult women, still fewer have assessed differences in substance use outcomes in women who identify as mostly heterosexual
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