The Diversity and Prevalence of Sexual Orientation Self-Labels in a New Zealand National Sample

Greaves, Lara M., Barlow, Fiona Kate, Lee, Carol H.J., Matika, Correna M., Wamg, Weiyu, Lindsay, Cinnamon-Jo, Case, Claudia J.B., Sengupta, Nikhil K., Huang, Yanshu, Cowie, Lucy J., and others. (2017) The Diversity and Prevalence of Sexual Orientation Self-Labels in a New Zealand National Sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46 (5). pp. 1325-1336. ISSN 0004-0002. E-ISSN 1573-2800. (doi:10.1007/s10508-016-0857-5) (Access to this publication is currently restricted. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:79062)

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0857-5

Abstract

In this study, we asked participants to “describe their sexual orientation” in an open-ended measure of self-generated sexual orientation. The question was included as part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N = 18,261) 2013/2014 wave, a national probability survey conducted shortly after the first legal same-sex marriages in New Zealand. We present a two-level classification scheme to address questions about the prevalence of, and demographic differences between, sexual orientations. At the most detailed level of the coding scheme, 49 unique categories were generated by participant responses. Of those who responded with the following, significantly more were women: bisexual (2.1 % of women, compared to 1.5 % of men), bicurious (0.7 % of women, 0.4 % of men), and asexual (0.4 % of women and less than 0.1 % of men). However, significantly fewer women than men reported being lesbian or gay (1.8 % of women, compared to 3.5 % of men). Those openly identifying as bicurious, bisexual, or lesbian/gay were significantly younger than those with a heterosexual orientation. This study shows diversity in the terms used in self-generated sexual orientations, and provides up-to-date gender, age, and prevalence estimates for the New Zealand population. Finally, results reveal that a substantial minority of participants may not have understood the question about sexual orientation.

Item Type:	Article
DOI/Identification number:	10.1007/s10508-016-0857-5
Uncontrolled keywords:	sexuality; sexual orientation; survey design;
Subjects:	B Philosophy. Psychology. Religion > BF Psychology
Divisions:	Divisions > Division of Human and Social Sciences > School of Psychology
Depositing User:	Nikhil Sengupta
Date Deposited:	03 Dec 2019 13:35 UTC
Last Modified:	05 Nov 2024 12:43 UTC
Resource URI:	https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/79062 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

University of Kent Author Information

Sengupta, Nikhil K..

Creator's ORCID:	https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5694-353X
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