Background and objectives: People who identify as bisexual, transgender or gender diverse report poorer mental health than their homosexual and cisgender counterparts. The aim of this article is to shed light on the mental health experiences of gender diverse bisexual people and the reasons for poor mental health in this group.
Method: This article reports on a subset of a large cross-sectional survey of bisexual Australians (n = 2651), examining predictors of poor mental health among the 19% (n = 474) of respondents who identified as transgender or gender diverse.
Results: Very high rates of psychological distress, mental illness and suicidality were reported by participants who identified as transgender and gender diverse. Higher levels of internalised biphobia and less participation in lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community events predicted higher psychological distress (P <0.05).
Discussion: The high rates of mental health problems among transgender and gender diverse bisexual Australians mean it is essential that general practitioners and those on the frontline of mental healthcare provision recognise the need to engage with these groups. This research provides new insights to support and inform this engagement.