American heterosexuals dislike bisexuals more than they dislike most religious, ethnic or racial groups, according to a national opinion survey conducted by UC Davis psychology professor Gregory Herek.

In one of the first scientific studies to focus specifically on heterosexuals' attitudes toward bisexuals, Herek found that average ratings of bisexual men and women were substantially lower than ratings of other groups, including whites, Catholics, blacks, Jews, and people with AIDS. The only group rated more negatively than bisexual men and women was people who inject illegal drugs. The national telephone survey interviewed 1,335 people.

Feelings about bisexuals differed according to the demographic characteristics of those surveyed, according to Herek. Highly religious people and self-identified political conservatives expressed more negative feelings than less-religious respondents and political moderates and liberals.

Gay men and lesbians were also ranked low in the survey. In general, women respondents felt significantly less positive toward bisexual men and women alike than toward gay men or lesbians. By contrast, Herek found that men respondents rated bisexual and gay men more negatively than they rated bisexual and lesbian women.

"This is an interesting difference between heterosexual men and women," Herek observed. "Women's feelings toward a person seem to be more strongly influenced by whether the individual is bisexual or homosexual. But men's attitudes are more affected by whether the person is male or female."

The study was published in the most recent issue of the Journal of Sex Research. More information and a pre-publication copy of the paper are available on Herek's Web site.