The Longitudinal Measurement of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity: A Study of Identity Change in a Nationally Representative Sample of U.S. Adults and Adolescents.

Purpose: Research and lived experience demonstrate that sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI) can change over the life course; however, little empirical work exists to understand the prevalence of such changes. To address this gap, we used data from a large nationally representative panel of adults and adolescents to assess changes in self-reported SOGI over time and identify trends by sex assigned at birth, age, race and ethnicity, and survey mode. Methods: We reviewed SOGI data collected between 2014 and 2022 for a sample of 19,469 adults and 970 adolescents. Up to eight SOGI measurements per panelist were available over the nine-year period, collected through a combination of panel recruitment and demographic refresh surveys and topic-specific surveys. Results: Among adults older than 18 years, 4.1% reported a change in sexual orientation and 3.6% reported a change in gender identity. Among teens, who are developmentally more apt to change identity, 13.5% reported a change in sexual orientation and 9.3% reported a change in gender identity. Conclusions: Findings demonstrate that SOGI can change over time, particularly for adolescents, so it is important to re-ask SOGI questions to ensure current information. We recommend re-asking SOGI questions at least every three years of adults and every two years of adolescents. Potential undercounting of sexual and gender minority (SGM) respondents decreases visibility and our ability to understand health and economic disparities affecting these populations. Improvements in SOGI measurement can help advance data quality and, ultimately, evidence-based interventions in support of SGM communities that these data help to inform.

目的：研究和实际经验表明，性取向和性别认同（SOGI）在人的一生中可能会发生变化；然而，很少有实证研究来了解这种变化的普遍性。为了填补这一空白，我们使用了来自一个具有全国代表性的大型成人和青少年样本组的数据，以评估自我报告的性取向和性别认同随时间的变化，并按出生时指定的性别、年龄、种族和民族以及调查方式确定趋势。 方法：我们回顾了2014年至2022年间收集的19469名成人和970名青少年的性取向和性别认同数据。在这九年期间，每个样本组成员最多有八次性取向和性别认同测量数据，这些数据是通过样本组招募、人口统计更新调查以及特定主题调查相结合的方式收集的。 结果：在18岁以上的成年人中，4.1%的人报告性取向发生了变化，3.6%的人报告性别认同发生了变化。在青少年中，由于他们在成长过程中更易改变身份，13.5%的人报告性取向发生了变化，9.3%的人报告性别认同发生了变化。 结论：研究结果表明，性取向和性别认同会随时间变化，尤其是青少年，因此重新询问性取向和性别认同问题以确保信息的时效性非常重要。我们建议对成年人至少每三年、对青少年至少每两年重新询问性取向和性别认同问题。对性少数和性别少数（SGM）受访者的潜在低估会降低其可见度以及我们理解影响这些人群的健康和经济差异的能力。性取向和性别认同测量的改进有助于提高数据质量，并最终为支持性少数和性别少数群体的循证干预提供依据，这些数据有助于为相关干预提供信息。