Social Research Institute, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
PLoS One. 2024 Sep 20;19(9):e0303100. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0303100. eCollection 2024.
Sexual orientation has been measured in a wide variety of ways which reflect both theoretical and practical considerations. However, choice of sexual orientation measure and recoding strategy can impact analytic sample, as well as demographic and health profiles, in analyses of sexual minority populations. We aimed to examine how choice of sexual orientation dimension and recoding decisions impact estimates in the sexual minority population in two population-based studies in the UK.
We used data collected at age 17 (2018) in the UK Millennium Cohort Study and at sweep six (2012-13) and eight (2017-18) of the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Descriptive statistics were used to examine the impact of choice of sexual orientation dimension (i.e. identity, attraction and experience) and recoding decisions on achieved analytic sample and composition by selected demographic and health measures within and between datasets.
Dimension choice and recoding decisions resulted in variation in analytic sample. For example, more respondents reported some same-sex sexual attraction than reported a non-heterosexual identity (adolescents: 20.77% vs 8.97%, older adults: 4.77% vs 1.04%). Demographic distributions varied, but not substantially by dimension choice or recoding strategy. Overall, in both datasets sexual minority respondents were more likely to be White and in the highest quintiles for income and education than heterosexual respondents. Health status did not vary substantially by dimension choice or recoding strategy, however sexual minority respondents reported worse health than their heterosexual peers.
This study explores a range of practical and theoretical considerations when analysing sexual minority respondents using survey data. We highlight the impact recoding decisions may have on the numbers of sexual minority respondents identified within a dataset and demographic and health distributions in this understudied population. We also demonstrate the benefits of including multiple dimensions for capturing mechanisms of interest in elucidating ambiguous responses and exploring sexual diversity.
性取向的测量方法多种多样，这些方法既反映了理论考虑，也反映了实际考虑。然而，性取向测量方法的选择和重新编码策略会影响分析样本，以及分析少数性群体人口的人口统计和健康特征。我们旨在研究在英国的两项基于人群的研究中，性取向维度的选择和重新编码决策如何影响少数性群体人口的估计。
我们使用了英国千禧年队列研究在 17 岁（2018 年）和英国老龄化纵向研究第六次（2012-13 年）和第八次（2017-18 年）调查中收集的数据。我们使用描述性统计来研究性取向维度（即身份、吸引力和经验）选择和重新编码决策对分析样本和所选人口统计和健康指标在数据集内和数据集之间的构成的影响。
维度选择和重新编码决策导致了分析样本的变化。例如，与非异性恋身份相比，更多的受访者报告了一些同性性吸引力（青少年：20.77%比 8.97%，成年人：4.77%比 1.04%）。人口分布有所不同，但维度选择或重新编码策略没有显著变化。总体而言，在两个数据集中，少数性群体受访者比异性恋受访者更有可能是白人，收入和教育水平最高的五分位数。健康状况的维度选择或重新编码策略没有显著变化，但少数性群体受访者的健康状况比他们的异性恋同龄人差。
本研究探讨了在使用调查数据分析少数性群体受访者时的一系列实际和理论考虑。我们强调了重新编码决策可能对识别数据集中少数性群体受访者的数量以及该未充分研究的群体的人口统计和健康分布产生的影响。我们还展示了包括多个维度来捕捉感兴趣的机制的好处，以阐明模糊的反应并探索性多样性。
