Contextualizing the Well-being of Asexual Youth: Evidence of Differences in Family, Health, and School Outcomes

• Published in: Journal of youth and adolescence Vol. 51; no. 1; pp. 128 - 140
• Main Authors: Simon, Kay A., Hawthorne, Heath M., Clark, Alyssa N., Renley, Benton M., Farr, Rachel H., Eaton, Lisa A., Watson, Ryan J.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Asexuality; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Child and School Psychology; Cisgender; Clinical Psychology; Empirical Research; Family support; Female; Gender Identity; Health Psychology; History of Psychology; Humans; Law and Psychology; Male; Psychology; Schools; Sexual and Gender Minorities; Sexual Behavior; Sexuality; Transgender Persons; Well being; Youth; LGBTQ; Asexuality; Sexual and gender minority youth; Mental health; Social support
• ISSN: 0047-2891; 1573-6601
• DOI: 10.1007/s10964-021-01500-5

Despite increasing efforts to better understand sexual and gender minority youth (SGMY), asexual youth remain understudied. This study examines differences in health, family support, and school safety among asexual youth (
n
 = 938) from a national study of SGMY (
N
 = 17,112) ages 13–17. Compared to non-asexual youth, asexual youth were more likely to identify as transgender and report a disability, and less likely to identify as Black or Hispanic/Latino. Transgender (versus cisgender) asexual youth fared worse on most study outcomes. Cisgender asexual (versus cisgender non-asexual) youth fared worse on all study outcomes. Transgender asexual (versus transgender non-asexual) youth reported lower sexuality-related family support. These findings underscore the role of gender identity in understanding the experiences of asexual youth.