Stability of Sexual Attractions Across Different Timescales: The Roles of Bisexuality and Gender.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Observational longitudinal daily diary and retrospective cohort analysis
PubMed 27873031 · doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0860-x
What was done
A total of 294 heterosexual, lesbian, gay, and bisexual men and women aged 18 to 40 recorded the intensity of their daily strongest same-sex and other-sex attractions using online daily diaries. Participants also completed retrospective reports of changes in attraction since adolescence. Multilevel dynamical systems models were used to evaluate daily attraction stability, defined as the tendency for attractions to return toward a person-specific setpoint over time.
What was found
The abstract reports no numerical values, effect sizes, or test statistics. Women showed less day-to-day stability in attractions than men, but did not recall larger changes since adolescence compared to men. Larger recollected post-adolescent changes did not predict lower daily stability in the overall sample. Bisexually attracted individuals recalled larger post-adolescent changes and demonstrated lower day-to-day stability in attractions toward their less-preferred gender compared to individuals with exclusively same-sex or other-sex attractions.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that sexual fluidity functions across distinct short- and long-term timescales, with gender and bisexuality exerting distinct influences on daily fluctuations versus recalled long-term developmental changes.
Limits
The abstract provides no quantitative metrics, effect sizes, or confidence intervals. The findings rely entirely on subjective self-reports and retrospective recall of adolescent attractions, which is susceptible to recall bias. The diary monitoring duration is not stated in the abstract, and the sample was restricted to adults aged 18 to 40.
Cited by
- supports Women display greater longitudinal fluidity and plasticity in their sexual attractions and orientation than men do.