Abstract
Exploring sexuality and identity are important and concurrent adolescent developmental tasks. Sexual identity fluidity (e.g., change over time in sexual identity) at this stage is increasingly documented, yet, knowledge concerning broad tendencies in sexual identity development in contemporary youth and how these relate to sexual well-being is lacking. This study identified and characterized longitudinal classes of sexual identity change across three time points and tested the associations between class membership and later sexual well-being. A total of 3027 Canadian adolescents aged 14–17 years (48.9% girls; 1.0% transgender/nonbinary youth) completed in-class questionnaires during three waves over 3 years. Three-step latent class analysis of sexual identity including sociodemographic covariates (gender, location, and parental education) was followed by Wald tests to examine differences in sexual well-being across classes (sexual satisfaction, sexual desire/arousal, orgasmic function, and sexual distress). Three classes emerged: Consistent Heterosexual (84.4%), Mostly Plurisexual (10.2%), and Consistent Questioning and Emerging Sexual Minority (5.4%). Compared with Consistent Heterosexuals, other class members were more likely to be cisgender girls or trans/nonbinary youth. Also, members of the Consistent Questioning and Emerging Sexual Minority class had higher odds of coming from a metropolitan area. Compared with Consistent Heterosexuals, Mostly Plurisexual members had lower sexual satisfaction as well as higher sexual distress, yet, members of the Consistent Questioning and Emerging Sexual Minority class had significantly higher sexual desire/arousal. No differences emerged for orgasmic function. Results document the complex association between sexual minority identity development and sexuality during adolescence and are in line with the Minority Stress Framework.