Age-Related Trends in Self-Identification of Sexual Orientation During Early Adolescence

Abstract

Purpose: Despite the evidence that sexual orientation can be fluid during early adolescence, there is a lack of research examining how sexual orientation self-identification evolves during this period. This study aims to explore age-specific patterns and trends in sexual orientation self-identification among a demographically diverse sample of U.S. adolescents.

Methods: Using data from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study, we analyzed annual sexual orientation survey responses collected between 2016 and 2021 from 11,845 U.S. adolescents aged 9-13 years. Pairwise chi-squared tests were used to examine changes in response proportions across adjacent time points. At each yearly assessment, participants responded to the question, "Are you gay or bisexual?" with options: "yes," "maybe," "no," "do not understand," and "refuse to answer."

Results: The percentage of adolescents responding "yes" to identifying as gay or bisexual increased from 0.3% at ages 9-10 to 8.7% at ages 12-13, whereas "maybe" responses increased from 1.0% to 5.5%. Concurrently, the proportion of adolescents who did not understand the question decreased from 24.5% at ages 9-10 to 1.7% at ages 12-13. These changes were statistically significant across all adjacent years. Female adolescents comprised the majority of "yes" and "maybe" responses at all ages, although increases were observed among male adolescents as well.

Discussion: There are age-related trends in the self-identification of sexual orientation during early adolescence. As adolescents age, a growing proportion identify as gay or bisexual, and understanding of sexual orientation questions improves.

Keywords: Adolescent; Age trends; LGB youth; Sexual minority; Sexual orientation.