Sexual orientation, gender expression and socioeconomic status in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health

Abstract

Background Socioeconomic status (SES) is a fundamental contributor to health, yet it is rarely examined relative to gender expression, particularly gender non-conformity and sexual orientation. Methods We use data from 11 242 Wave V respondents (aged 33-44) in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (2016-2018) to examine associations between socially assigned gender expression, sexual orientation and SES, in logistic and multinomial regression models stratified by sex assigned at birth. Results Among both women and men a general pattern of heightened risk for lower SES among gender non-conforming sexual minorities relative to gender conforming heterosexuals was observed. Gender non-conforming heterosexuals were also at elevated risk of lower SES compared with their conforming heterosexual peers. Conclusion Socioeconomic differences by sexual orientation and gender expression have important implications for understanding health disparities among gender non-conforming sexual minorities and their gender conforming heterosexual counterparts.