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Asexual Identity in a New Zealand National Sample: Demographics, Well-Being, and Health

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Abstract

Academic interest in asexuality has increased in recent years; however, there is yet to be a national probability study exploring the correlates of self-identifying as asexual. Here, we utilized data from the 2014/15 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. Past research has typically used attraction-based measures; however, we asked participants to describe their sexual orientation using a self-generated, open-ended item, and 0.4% (n = 44) self-identified as asexual. We then compared self-identified asexual participants with a heterosexual reference group (n = 11,822) across a large number of demographic, psychological, and health variables. Relative to heterosexuals, self-identified asexual participants were (1) more likely to be women, and (2) substantially less likely to be cisgender, (3) in a serious romantic relationship, or (4) a parent. No deleterious mental or physical health effects were associated with asexuality when compared to heterosexuality. This study provides the first attempt at measuring self-identification as asexual in a national sample and highlights core similarities and differences between those who identify as asexual and heterosexual.

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Acknowledgements

Lara Greaves was supported by a University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship during the preparation of this article.

Data access

As per the NZAVS data access statement, a copy of the anonymous data reported in each NZAVS publication is available from CS upon request from appropriately qualified researchers. Such data will be provided with the explicit understanding that it is used solely for the purposes of replicating or otherwise checking the validity of analyses reported in scientific papers analyzing NZAVS data.

Funding

This research was supported by a Templeton World Charity Foundation Grant (ID: 0077). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

    Lara M. Greaves, Yanshu Huang, Samantha Stronge & Chris G. Sibley

  2. School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia

    Fiona Kate Barlow

  3. School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington, New Zealand

    Gloria Fraser

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  1. Lara M. Greaves
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  2. Fiona Kate Barlow
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Correspondence to Lara M. Greaves.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study

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Greaves, L.M., Barlow, F.K., Huang, Y. et al. Asexual Identity in a New Zealand National Sample: Demographics, Well-Being, and Health. Arch Sex Behav 46, 2417–2427 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-017-0977-6

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