Table 4.
Age Reached Sexual Orientation Developmental Milestones by Gender and Sexual Orientation Group for Female (N=1235) and Male (N=398) Young Adults, Ages 22 to 29 Years, in the Growing Up Today Study who Reported Any Same-Gender Orientation in 2010
| Females (age in years, M, SD) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| ||||||
| Milestones | Lesbian (n = 84) | Bisexual (n = 127) | Mostly heterosexual (n = 776) | Hetero w/same-gender sexual experience (n = 248) | Sexual Orientation Comparison (p-values) | Sexual Orientation Comparison (Cohen’s d) |
| Same-gender attraction | 14.8 (4.4) | 14.5 (4.3) | 17.3 (3.8) | 17.3 (3.1) | <.001 | 0.08 |
| Other-gender attraction | 12.6 (3.9) | 10.5 (3.4) | 9.6 (3.2) | 9.3 (3.2) | <.001 | 0.04 |
| Same-gender sexual experience | 18.3 (3.5) | 17.9 (4.0) | 18.0 (4.3) | 18.1 (4.4) | 0.91 | <.001 |
| Other-gender sexual experience | 15.5 (3.7) | 15.9 (2.9) | 16.5 (2.6) | 15.6 (2.5) | <.001 | 0.02 |
| Sexual minority identity | 17.6 (3.7) | 16.9 (4.0) | 17.7 (3.9) | 16.4 (4.3) | 0.05 | 0.01 |
|
| ||||||
| Males (age in years, M, SD) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Milestones | Gay (n = 88) | Bisexual (n = 16) | Mostly heterosexual (n = 188) | Hetero w/same-gender sex exper (n = 96) | Sexual Orientation Comparison (p-values) | Sexual Orientation Comparison (Cohen’s d) |
|
| ||||||
| Same-gender attraction | 11.9 (3.6) | 16.4 (4.3) | 17.3 (4.7) | 14.8 (5.4) | <.001 | 0.26 |
| Other-gender attraction | 11.7 (4.3) | 10.7 (3.4) | 9.7 (3.2) | 8.2 (2.8) | <.001 | 0.10 |
| Same-gender sexual experience | 16.9 (3.7) | 18.7 (3.9) | 16.3 (5.8) | 12.4 (5.7) | <.001 | 0.16 |
| Other-gender sexual experience | 17.4 (3.2) | 17.1 (2.2) | 16.8 (3.0) | 15.8 (4.2) | 0.035 | 0.03 |
| Sexual minority identity | 15.0 (3.9) | 15.9 (2.8) | 17.9 (4.0) | 13.0 (5.3) | <.001 | 0.13 |
|
| ||||||
| Females vs. Males (p-values) | ||||||
|
| ||||||
| Milestones | Lesbian/gay | Bisexual | Mostly heterosexual | Hetero w/same-gender sex exper | ||
|
| ||||||
| Same-gender attraction | <.001 | .10 | .91 | .11 | ||
| Other-gender attraction | .25 | .87 | .78 | .003 | ||
| Same-gender sexual experience | .01 | .54 | .03 | <.001 | ||
| Other-gender sexual experience | .01 | .16 | .17 | .74 | ||
| Sexual minority identity | <.001 | .40 | .68 | .04 | ||
Note. The sexual minority identity milestone refers to lifetime sexual minority identification reported prior to sexual orientation endorsed in 2010. Sexual orientation in 2010 was used to create the sexual orientation subgroups. Reported p-values are from ANOVAs for timing.