Quality of Life, Life Satisfaction, and Sexual Agency Among Plurisexual People with Different Sexual Identities in Sweden

Plurisexual people report worse mental health compared to heterosexual, lesbian, and gay people, but it is unclear how well-being compares between people with different plurisexual identities and demographic characteristics. We therefore conducted an online survey with 956 plurisexual individuals identifying as bisexual (n = 563), pansexual (n = 226) or bi- and pansexual (n = 194), measuring quality of life, life satisfaction, sexual agency, sexual identity disclosure, inclusion in LGBTQI contexts, and sexual identity centrality. Women were more likely to identify as bisexual compared to pansexual, with the opposite pattern for nonbinary people. Pansexual people reported lower quality of life and life satisfaction compared to bisexual and bi- and pansexual people. Having trans experience, being single, and living outside of a major city were associated with lower levels of well-being. Higher identity disclosure and LGBTQI inclusion were associated with higher levels of well-being, while identity centrality was associated with lower levels of sexual agency. These findings suggest that pansexual people may be a particularly vulnerable group within the plurisexual community, and that an intersectional approach accounting for additional life circumstances is needed to ease the identity disclosure and community inclusion that may facilitate higher well-being.