Prevalence and stability of self-reported sexual orientation identity during young adulthood
Abstract
Based on date from Wave 3 and Wave 4 from National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (N=12,287), known as Add Health, the majority of young adults identified their sexual orientation as 100% heterosexual. The second largest identity group,‘‘mostly heterosexual,’’was larger than all other nonheterosexual identities combined. Comparing distributions across waves, which were approximately 6 years apart, stability of sexual orientation identity wasmore common than change. Stability was greatest among men and those identifying as heterosexual. Individuals who identified as 100% homosexual reported nearly the same level of stability as 100% heterosexuals. The bisexual categorywas themost unstable, with one quarter maintaining that status at Wave 4. Bisexual men who changed their identity distributed themselves among all other categories; among bisexual women, themost common shiftwas toward mostly heterosexual. Reflecting changes in identity, the proportion of heterosexuals decreased between the two waves.
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Those who are sexually fluid often experience multiple changes in sexual identity and behavior over the lifespan, both to and away from LGB+ identities.
“The extant literature suggests that those who are sexually fluid often experience multiple changes in sexual identity and behavior over the lifespan, both to and away from LGB+ identities (e.g., Campbell et al., 2021;Kaestle, 2019;Savin-Williams et al., 2012).”
From Fixed or Fluid? Sexual Identity Fluidity in a Large National Panel Study of New Zealand Adults (2024) · cites this paper as Savin-Williams et al., 2012
Plurisexual participants were the most likely to show fluidity in all directions, potentially supporting the idea that plurisexual identities can be open to change and may shift in response to different relationships or experiences.
“Consistent with past work (e.g., Savin-Williams et al., 2012), however, plurisexual participants were the most likely to show fluidity in all directions, potentially supporting the idea that plurisexual identities can be open to change and may shift in response to different relationships or experiences (Blumstein & Schwartz, 1977;Diamond, 2016;Ross et al., 2012;Weinberg et al., 1995).”
From Fixed or Fluid? Sexual Identity Fluidity in a Large National Panel Study of New Zealand Adults (2024) · cites this paper as Savin-Williams et al., 2012
Adolescents are less likely than adults to conform to firm categories of sexual orientation or gender identity.
“To do this well will require careful attention, as adolescents are less likely than adults to conform to firm categories of sexual orientation or gender identity (Savin-Williams et al., 2012, van Anders, 2015).”
From Becoming a sexual being: The “elephant in the room” of adolescent brain development (2017) · cites this paper as Savin-Williams et al., 2012
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References 28 · Cited by 244
- Authors
- Savin-Williams, R. C., Joyner, K., & Rieger, G.
- Affiliations
- Bowling Green State University (US)
- Cornell University (US)
- ORCID
- Rieger, Gerulf
- Venue
- Archives of Sexual Behavior
- Published
- 2012-02
- Volume
- 41
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 103-110
- ISSN
- 0004-0002 (ISSN-L)
- 1573-2800
- OpenAlex
- W2114495017
- Semantic Scholar
- 455f31a180e99bad5d0b0438eac3c56e79694cbe
- Cited by
- 244
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 16 · 2022: 33 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 23 · 2019: 24 · 2018: 19 · 2017: 19 · 2016: 20 · 2015: 17 · 2014: 14 · 2013: 14 · 2012: 4
- FWCI
- 24.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Archives of Sexual Behavior (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (P01- HD31921, P01HD031921, R24HD050959)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender and Feminist Studies
- Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Gender, Sexuality, and Education
- Keywords
- sexual orientation identity, early adulthood, identity stability, personal transformation, heterosexual identity, bisexual identity, homosexual identity, gender differences, Add Health
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Health Surveys, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Self Concept, Prevalence, Sexuality
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