Filling the Silence: Exploring the Bisexual Experience of Intimate Partner Abuse

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore the subjective experience of bisexual people who have experienced intimate partner abuse to provide a tentative foundation upon which further discourses and research work can build. This study recruited 10 participants (8 females, 2 males) from the United Kingdom. Taped data from semistructured qualitative interviews were transcribed verbatim and analyzed using grounded theory methodology. A theoretical understanding of the phenomenon was developed. The basic psychological process of ‘adjusting for consonance’ described the dynamic process of the categories ‘getting lost in the relationship’ and ‘lifting the veil.’ New insights into the phenomenon are provided and their clinical implications are discussed.