Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Asexual Identity, Personality, and Social Motivations in a New Zealand National Sample

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Archives of Sexual Behavior Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Growing research interest in asexuality has led to several notable findings around the differences between asexual people and those with other sexual orientations. These findings have recently extended to personality, but questions remain around differences in personality between asexual people and others. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative research disagrees about whether asexual people are less interested in close relationships than others. This paper used data from a nationally representative sample of self-identified asexual participants (Analysis 1: nwomen = 216, nmen = 54, ngender diverse = 13; Analysis 2: nwomen = 53, nmen = 19, ngender diverse = 3) and matched samples of heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual/plurisexual (LGB) participants (N’s = 75–283) drawn from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (Ns = 19,396–54,183) to explore personality (Analysis 1) and approach and avoidance social motivations (Analysis 2). Compared to heterosexuals, asexual participants reported significantly lower extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and higher emotionality, openness, and honesty-humility. Compared to those who identified as LGB, asexual participants reported significantly lower extraversion and agreeableness and higher honesty-humility. In addition, asexual participants scored significantly lower on approach (but not avoidance) social motivation than both heterosexual and LGB participants, indicating that they are less motivated to enhance positive experiences and behavior in their social relationships. These results help to clarify how personality and social motivations covary with sexual identity.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

Code Availability

Mplus syntax for the models reported here will be posted publicly on the NZAVS website upon acceptance of this article. Syntax is also available upon request for reviewing purposes. www.psych.auckland.ac.nz/uoa/NZAVS

Data Availability

As per the NZAVS data access statement, a copy of the anonymous data reported in each NZAVS publication is available CS upon request from appropriately qualified researchers. Such data will be provided with the explicit understanding that it is used solely for the purposes of replicating or otherwise checking the validity of analyses reported in scientific papers analyzing NZAVS data.

References

  • Aicken, C. R., Mercer, C. H., & Cassell, J. A. (2013). Who reports absence of sexual attraction in Britain? Evidence from national probability surveys. Psychology & Sexuality, 4(2), 121–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Allen, M. S., & Robson, D. A. (2020). Personality and sexual orientation: New data and meta-analysis. Journal of Sex Research, 57(8), 953–965. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2020.1768204

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2007). Empirical, theoretical, and practical advantages of the HEXACO model of personality structure. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 11(2), 150–166. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868306294907

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2009). The HEXACO–60: A short measure of the major dimensions of personality. Journal of Personality Assessment, 91(4), 340–345.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, J., Salmond, C. E., & Crampton, P. (2014). NZDep2013 index of deprivation. Wellington, New Zealand: Department of Public Health, University of Otago. Retrieved from http://www.otago.ac.nz/wellington/otago069936.pdf

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2004). Asexuality: Prevalence and associated factors in a national probability sample. Journal of Sex Research, 41(3), 279–287.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2006). Toward a conceptual understanding of asexuality. Review of General Psychology, 10(3), 241–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2012). Understanding asexuality. Rowman & Littlefield.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2013). The demography of asexuality. In A. K. Baumle (Ed.), International handbook on the demography of sexuality (pp. 275–288). Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F. (2015). Asexuality: What it is and why it matters. Journal of Sex Research, 52(4), 362–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bogaert, A. F., Ashton, M. C., & Lee, K. (2018). Personality and sexual orientation: Exstension to asexuality and the HEXACO model. Journal of Sex Research, 55(8), 951–961.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brotto, L. A., Knudson, G., Inskip, J., Rhodes, K., & Erskine, Y. (2010). Asexuality: A mixed-methods approach. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 39(3), 599–618.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brotto, L. A., & Yule, M. A. (2011). Physiological and subjective sexual arousal in self-identified asexual women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(4), 699–712.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brotto, L. A., & Yule, M. (2016). Asexuality: Sexual orientation, paraphilia, sexual dysfunction, or none of the above? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(3), 619–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0802-7

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Campbell, W. K., Bonacci, A. M., Shelton, J., Exline, J. J., & Bushman, B. J. (2004). Psychological entitlement: Interpersonal consequences and validation of a self-report measure. Journal of Personality Assessment, 83(1), 29–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carrigan, M. (2011). There’s more to life than sex? Difference and commonality within the asexual community. Sexualities, 14, 462–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chou, K. L., Ng, I. S., & Yu, K. M. (2014). Lifetime abstention of sexual intercourse and health in middle-aged and older adults: Results from wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43(5), 891–900.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson, M., McDonnell, L., & Scott, S. (2016). Negotiating the boundaries of intimacy: The personal lives of asexual people. Sociological Review, 64(2), 349–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Donnellan, M. B., Oswald, F. L., Baird, B. M., & Lucas, R. E. (2006). The mini-IPIP scales: Tiny-yet-effective measures of the Big Five factors of personality. Psychological Assessment, 18(2), 192–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eisinga, R., te Grotenhuis, M., & Pelzer, B. (2013). The reliability of a two-item scale: Pearson, Cronbach, or Spearman-Brown? International Journal of Public Health, 58(4), 637–642.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elliot, A. J., Gable, S. L., & Mapes, R. R. (2006). Approach and avoidance motivation in the social domain. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32(3), 378–391.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fraser, G., Bulbulia, J., Greaves, L. M., Wilson, M. S., & Sibley, C. G. (2019). Coding responses to an open-ended gender measure in a New Zealand national sample. Journal of Sex Research, 57(8), 979–986.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldberg, L. R. (1999). A broad-bandwidth, public domain, personality inventory measuring the lower-level facets of several five-factor models. In I. Mervielde, I. Deary, F. De Fruyt, & F. Ostendorf (Eds.), Personality psychology in Europe (Vol. 7, pp. 7–28). Tilburg University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Greaves, L. M., Barlow, F. K., Huang, Y., Stronge, S., Fraser, G., & Sibley, C. G. (2017a). Asexual identity in a New Zealand national sample: Demographics, well-being, and health. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(8), 2417–2427.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greaves, L. M., Barlow, F. K., Huang, Y., Stronge, S., & Sibley, C. G. (2017b). Personality across sexual identity and gender in a national probability sample in New Zealand. Sex Roles, 77(9–10), 653–662.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greaves, L. M., Barlow, F. K., Lee, C., Matika, C., Wang, W., Lindsay, C., Case, C. J. B., Sengupta, N. K., Huang, Y., Cowie, L. J., Stronge, S., Storey, M., De Souza, L., Manuela, S., Hammond, M. D., Milojev, P., Townrow, C. S., Muriwai, E., Satherley, N., … Sibley, C. G. (2017c). The diversity and prevalence of sexual orientation self-labels in a New Zealand national sample. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46(5), 1325–1336. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0857-5

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ho, D. E., Imai, K., King, G., & Stuart, E. A. (2011). MatchIt: Nonparametric preprocessing for parametric causal inference. Journal of Statistical Software, 42(8), 6–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A. (2005). Sexual orientation and personality. Annual Review of Sex Research, 16(1), 119–153. https://doi.org/10.1080/10532528.2005.10559831

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A. (2008). Sex differences and sexual orientation differences in personality: Findings from the BBC internet survey. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37(1), 173–187. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9267-z

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lippa, R. A. (2020). Interest, personality, and sexual traits that distinguish heterosexual, bisexual, and homosexual individuals: Are there two dimensions that underlie variations in sexual orientation? Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(2), 607–622.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacInnis, C. C., & Hodson, G. (2012). Intergroup bias toward “Group X”: Evidence of prejudice, dehumanization, avoidance, and discrimination against asexuals. Group Processes & Intergroup Relations, 15(6), 725–743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McCrae, R. R., & Costa, P. T. (1997). Personality trait structure as a human universal. American Psychologist, 52(5), 509–516. https://doi.org/10.1037//0003-066x.52.5.509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Poston, D. L., & Baumle, A. K. (2010). Patterns of asexuality in the United States. Demographic Research, 23, 509–530.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prause, N., & Graham, C. A. (2007). Asexuality: Classification and characterization. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 36(3), 341–356.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scott, S., & Dawson, M. (2015). Rethinking asexuality: A symbolic interactionist account. Sexualities, 18(1–2), 3–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sibley, C. G., Luyten, N., Purnomo, M., Mobberley, A., Wootton, L. W., Hammond, M. D., Sengupta, N., Perry, R., West-Newman, T., Wilson, M. S., McLellan, L., Hoverd, W. J., & Robertson, A. (2011). The Mini-IPIP6: Validation and extension of a short measure of the Big-Six factors of personality in New Zealand. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 40(3), 142–159.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sibley, C. G. (2018). Sampling procedure and sample details for the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (NZAVS Technical Documents, e01). Retrieved from https://cdn.auckland.ac.nz/assets/psych/about/our-research/nzavs/NZAVSTechnicalDocuments/NZAVS-Technical-Documents-e01-Sampling-Procedure-and-Sample-Details.pdf

  • Smith, A., Rissel, C., Richters, J., Grulich, A., & de Visser, R. (2003). Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 27(2), 138–145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Statistics New Zealand. (2016). Qualifications. Retrieved from http://www.stats.govt.nz/methods/classifications-and-standards/classification-related-stats-standards/qualifications/classification-and-coding-process.aspx

  • Statistics New Zealand. (2020). Ethnicity. Retrieved from https://www.stats.govt.nz/topics/ethnicity

  • Yule, M. A., Brotto, L. A., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2013). Mental health and interpersonal functioning in self-identified asexual men and women. Psychology & Sexuality, 4(2), 136–151.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yule, M. A., Brotto, L. A., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2014). Biological markers of asexuality: Handedness, birth order, and finger length ratios in self-identified asexual men and women. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43, 299–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yule, M. A., Brotto, L. A., & Gorzalka, B. B. (2015). A validated measure of no sexual attraction: The Asexuality Identification Scale. Psychological Assessment, 27(1), 148–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zheng, L., Lippa, R. A., & Zheng, Y. (2011). Sex and sexual orientation differences in personality in China. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40(3), 533–541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-010-9700-6

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

Samantha Stronge and Lara M. Greaves contributed equally to this manuscript.

Funding

Data collection for the NZAVS was supported by a grant from the Templeton Religion Trust (TRT096). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the article.

Author information

Author notes

    Authors and Affiliations

    1. School of Social Sciences, University of Auckland, Private Bag 92019, Auckland, 1142, New Zealand

      Lara M. Greaves

    2. School of Psychology, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

      Samantha Stronge & Chris G. Sibley

    3. School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

      Fiona Kate Barlow

    Authors
    1. Lara M. Greaves
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    2. Samantha Stronge
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    3. Chris G. Sibley
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    4. Fiona Kate Barlow
      View author publications

      You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

    Corresponding author

    Correspondence to Lara M. Greaves.

    Ethics declarations

    Conflict of interest

    The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

    Ethical Approval

    Ethics approval for the NZAVS was attained from the University of Auckland Human Participants Ethics Committee (014889), and all relevant ethical regulations were complied with.

    Informed Consent

    Informed consent was obtained from all participants for each wave of the study.

    Additional information

    Publisher's Note

    Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

    Supplementary Information

    Below is the link to the electronic supplementary material.

    Supplementary file1 (DOCX 17 kb)

    Rights and permissions

    Reprints and permissions

    About this article

    Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

    Cite this article

    Greaves, L.M., Stronge, S., Sibley, C.G. et al. Asexual Identity, Personality, and Social Motivations in a New Zealand National Sample. Arch Sex Behav 50, 3843–3852 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02038-0

    Download citation

    • Received:

    • Revised:

    • Accepted:

    • Published:

    • Issue Date:

    • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-02038-0

    Keywords

    Search

    Navigation