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. 2021 Jul;8(5):372-377.
doi: 10.1089/lgbt.2020.0449. Epub 2021 Jun 7.

Relying on an "Other" Category Leads to Significant Misclassification of Sexual Minority Participants

Tierney K Lorenz  1
Affiliations

Relying on an "Other" Category Leads to Significant Misclassification of Sexual Minority Participants

Tierney K Lorenz. LGBT Health. 2021 Jul.

Abstract

Purpose: This study assessed which sexual minority participants selected "Other" if their identity was absent. Methods: This was an online survey; 905 participants saw a limited set of sexual orientation options (bisexual, gay/lesbian, heterosexual, other), and later in the same survey, saw an expanded list. Results: Twenty-one percent of participants chose different orientation labels across questions. When not presented with a "mostly heterosexual" option, 78% of mostly heterosexual participants chose "heterosexual"; 3% chose "other." However, when not presented with an "asexual" label, 100% of asexual participants chose "other." Conclusion: These findings suggest that "other" categories could misclassify a substantial proportion of sexual minority participants.

Keywords: mostly heterosexual; sexual orientation; sexuality; survey methodology.

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Conflict of interest statement

No competing financial interests exist.

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