Brozowski Alexandra, Chopik William J, Weidmann Rebekka, Oh Jeewon, Weaver Jonathan R
Department of Psychology, Michigan State University, 316 Physics Rd., East Lansing, MI, 48824, USA.
Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA.
Arch Sex Behav. 2025 Feb;54(2):575-588. doi: 10.1007/s10508-024-03068-0. Epub 2025 Jan 24.
The visibility and number of people identifying as asexual-those with little to no sexual attraction-have been increasing in recent years. In the current study, we examined variation in experiential and developmental milestones and psychosocial functioning in 1,726 individuals on the asexual spectrum (61.2% women, 15.0% non-binary, 14.2% men, 9.0% other gender). A lack of sexual attraction was a lifelong orientation-most (i.e., often half to two-thirds) asexual individuals reported never experiencing sexual attraction or acting on it. Identity formation processes and romantic feelings tended to be most salient in adolescence. People are identifying as asexual more recently, such that 18-22-year-olds did so recently in adolescence (ages 13-17), 23-29 year-olds did so recently in young adulthood (ages 18-24), and 30 + year-olds did so recently in adulthood (ages 25-34). This may be consistent with the visibility of asexuality increasing in recent years, providing a useful label for people. Asexual people were more out to other members of the LGBTQIA+ community but less to family, coworkers, and the heterosexual community. Being out and lower levels of internalized acephobia were associated with higher life satisfaction. We discuss these findings in the context of identity development and the mechanisms linking individual and relational characteristics to well-being in asexual populations.
近年来，自认为无性恋的人的可见度和数量一直在增加，无性恋者即那些几乎没有或完全没有性吸引力的人。在当前的研究中，我们调查了1726名无性恋谱系个体在体验和发展里程碑以及心理社会功能方面的差异（61.2%为女性，15.0%为非二元性别，14.2%为男性，9.0%为其他性别）。缺乏性吸引力是一种终身取向——大多数（即通常一半到三分之二）无性恋个体报告从未体验过性吸引力或有过性冲动行为。身份形成过程和浪漫情感在青春期往往最为突出。人们最近才开始认同自己为无性恋，例如，18至22岁的人在青春期（13至17岁）就开始认同，23至29岁的人在青年期（18至24岁）开始认同，30岁及以上的人在成年期（25至34岁）开始认同。这可能与近年来无性恋的可见度增加相一致，为人们提供了一个有用的标签。无性恋者向LGBTQIA+群体的其他成员出柜的情况更多，但向家人、同事和异性恋群体出柜的情况较少。出柜和较低程度的内化无性恋恐惧症与较高的生活满意度相关。我们在身份发展以及将个体和关系特征与无性恋人群幸福感联系起来的机制背景下讨论这些发现。
