Associations between Health, Identity Labeling, Sexuality Changes, and Engagement Status of Sexual Orientation Change Efforts

Abstract

We analyzed a socio-politically diverse sample (N = 1324; male = 997, female = 327) of adults who reported experiencing or having experienced same-sex attractions to compare the degree of depression and flourishing between three statuses of sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE): No SOCE, Ongoing SOCE, and Ended SOCE. ANCOVA results controlling for age indicated that the participants with Ongoing SOCE reported greater depression and less flourishing than participants in either the group with No SOCE or the group who had Ended SOCE, who had similar health outcomes. A chi-square analysis indicated that a large plurality of male participants (48.8%) who did not identify as LGBQ+ were located in the Ongoing SOCE group, while the majority (72.1%) who identified as LGBQ+ had ended their SOCE. For female participants, a large plurality (46.9%) of those who had not adopted an LGBQ+ identity were in the Never SOCE group while the majority (50.7%) of females who did identify as LGBQ+ were in the Ended SOCE group. Overall, 16.2% (166/1025) of participants exposed to SOCE reported having developed sufficient other-sex sexual attraction to enjoy other-sex sexual behavior, with a small gender difference of 16.9% (141/832) of males and 13.0% (25/193) of females. In addition, 6.0% (18/299) of participants who had never engaged in SOCE reported developing enough same-sex attractions to enjoy heterosexual sex, split evenly between the genders. Duration of SOCE was not associated with health outcomes and the number of years elapsed following SOCE was correlated with somewhat less depressive symptoms and greater flourishing. We conclude by discussing important limitations and cautions for interpreting our findings within a smallest effect size of interest (SESOI) framework, the benefits of adversarial collaboration, and recommendations for future research.