(89) GENDER-BASED DIFFERENCES ABOUT THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF THE ITALIAN BI+ POPULATION: AN EXPLORATORY EMPIRICAL RESEARCH

Abstract Objectives (1) to explore possible differences between Bi+ cisgender and transgender people in terms of identity affirmation, social support, and psychological well-being; (2) to test the mediating role of identity affirmation in the relationship between perceived social support and psychological well-being. Methods 497 Italian Bi+ individuals (362 cisgender and 135 transgender), aged 14 to 61, participated in an online survey. Gender differences in main variables were tested with the T-test for independent samples, while the mediation model was tested with the SPSS PROCESS macro with bias-corrected bootstrapping and 95% confidence intervals. This analysis was controlled for gender (cisgender vs transgender). Results (1) Bi+ transgender participants showed lower levels of perceived social support, environmental mastery, positive relations, purpose in life, self-acceptance and global psychological well-being than Bi+ cisgender counterparts, while Bi+ transgender participants showed higher levels of identity affirmation than Bi+ cisgender counterparts.(2) Perceived social support was positively associated with both identity affirmation and psychological well-being and identity affirmation was positively associated with psychological wellbeing. As identity affirmation was included as a mediator, there was a significant overall effect, while the direct effect remained significant, indicating a case of partial mediation. Indeed, the indirect effects showed that identity affirmation significantly mediated the relationship between perceived social support and psychological wellbeing. Gender was a significant control variable, indicating that being Bi+ cisgender was most strongly associated with psychological well-being than being Bi+ transgender. Conclusions The few studies on the Bi+ community show how it suffers from peculiar risk factors in addition to those common to the entire LGBT+ population. Our innovative research shed a light on gender differences showing a general lower level of psychological well-being of Bi+ transgender people despite a higher level of identity affirmation, maybe consequent to the visibility that this community must actively seek to be recognized. Conflicts of Interest Paolo Antonelli, Francesco Fantacci, Lorenzo Borrello, Anna Russo, Elisabetta Muto, and Cristiano Scandurra declare that they have no conflict of interest.