The measurement of sexual orientation: Historical background and current practices

被引:21
作者
Beaulieu-Prevost, D. [1 ]
Fortin, M. [2 ]
机构
[1] Univ Quebec Montreal, Dept Sexol, CP 8888,Succursale Ctr Ville, Montreal, PQ H3C 3P8, Canada
[2] CSSS Jeanne Mance, Equipe Sante Mentale Adulte, Montreal, PQ, Canada
关键词
Sexual orientation; Measurement; Assessment; Population surveys; Homosexuatity; Bisexuality;
D O I
10.1016/j.sexol.2014.05.006
中图分类号
R1 [预防医学、卫生学];
学科分类号
1004 ; 120402 ;
摘要
A growing number of studies show that sexual orientation plays an important role as a predictor of health and social exclusion (e.g., National Research Council, 2011). Consequently, this question gradually became a relevant issue both in public and individual health. The main purpose of this paper is to present a review of current practices from a sociohistorical perspective and to suggest best practices both for a survey design context and for situations of knowledge transfer and use. Before the 19th century, the religio-legal discourse forbidding sodomy focused on the behavioral aspect of sexual orientation. This discourse was replaced by two discourses supporting an identity-based and categorical conceptualization: the emerging medical discourse and the discourse of the first gay-rights movements. During the second half of the 20th century, research and the emergence of the queer discourse questioned the categorical conceptualization and underlined the multidimensional aspect of the construct. The current consensus suggests defining and measuring sexual orientation according to three main components: attractions, behaviors and self-identification (National Research Council, 2011). The proportion of sexual minorities tends to vary according to the specific component being measured, which suggests that these measures target partially exclusive groups. Recent studies showed the importance of systematically taking into account the component of sexual orientation measured in a study and the specific populations that were compared to avoid generalizing conclusions from a component to the other and applying knowledge to the wrong populations. Furthermore, a growing number of studies show the importance of using multiple measures to capture the heterogeneity of the populations identified as sexual minorities. Globally, current best practices in the measurement of sexual orientation mainly underline the need to recognize and assess the diversity of the populations labeled as sexual minorities. (C) 2014 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.
引用
收藏
页码:E15 / E19
页数:5
相关论文
共 37 条
  • [1] Amestoy M., 2001, J BISEXUALITY, V1, P91
  • [2] [Anonymous], 2009, BEST PRACT ASK QUEST
  • [3] [Anonymous], 2003, QUEER HETEROSEXUAL
  • [4] Are Lesbians Really Women Who Have Sex with Women (WSW)? Methodological Concerns in Measuring Sexual Orientation in Health Research
    Bauer, Greta R.
    Jairam, Jennifer A.
    [J]. WOMEN & HEALTH, 2008, 48 (04) : 383 - 408
  • [5] Asexuality: Prevalence and associated factors in a national probability sample
    Bogaert, AF
    [J]. JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH, 2004, 41 (03) : 279 - 287
  • [6] Same-sex attraction, social relationships, psychosocial functioning, and school performance in early adolescence
    Bos, Henny M. W.
    Sandfort, Theo G. M.
    De Bruyn, Eddy H.
    Hakvoort, Esther M.
    [J]. DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY, 2008, 44 (01) : 59 - 68
  • [7] Alcohol and tobacco use patterns among heterosexually and homosexually experienced California women
    Burgard, SA
    Cochran, SD
    Mays, VM
    [J]. DRUG AND ALCOHOL DEPENDENCE, 2005, 77 (01) : 61 - 70
  • [8] Butler J., 1990, GENDER TROUBLE
  • [9] Cass VC, 1990, IMPLICATION HOMOSEXU, P239
  • [10] Cochran SD, 2007, AM J PUBLIC HEALTH, V97, P1