In this study, we asked participants to "describe their sexual orientation" in an open-ended measure of self-generated sexual orientation. The question was included as part of the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (N = 18,261) 2013/2014 wave, a national probability survey conducted shortly after the first legal same-sex marriages in New Zealand. We present a two-level classification scheme to address questions about the prevalence of, and demographic differences between, sexual orientations. At the most detailed level of the coding scheme, 49 unique categories were generated by participant responses. Of those who responded with the following, significantly more were women: bisexual (2.1 % of women, compared to 1.5 % of men), bicurious (0.7 % of women, 0.4 % of men), and asexual (0.4 % of women and less than 0.1 % of men). However, significantly fewer women than men reported being lesbian or gay (1.8 % of women, compared to 3.5 % of men). Those openly identifying as bicurious, bisexual, or lesbian/gay were significantly younger than those with a heterosexual orientation. This study shows diversity in the terms used in self-generated sexual orientations, and provides up-to-date gender, age, and prevalence estimates for the New Zealand population. Finally, results reveal that a substantial minority of participants may not have understood the question about sexual orientation.

For Māori and Pasifika living in Aotearoa New Zealand, language, identity, and wellbeing are inter-linked and multifaceted. However, as English is the most widely spoken language in Aotearoa New Zealand, some Māori and Pasifika peoples will not be able to speak their community language. Ratings of ethnic identity centrality, self-esteem, life satisfaction and the Personal Wellbeing Index of monolingual (English only) and bilingual Māori (N = 4691) and Pasifika peoples (N = 868) were compared using New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study data collected during 2018/2019. Bilingual Māori and Pasifika peoples reported higher levels of ethnic identity centrality than English only speaking Māori and Pasifika. Bilingualism also moderated the relationship between ethnic identity centrality and self-esteem. Pasifika who only speak English have relatively positive and similar levels of wellbeing to Pasifika who are bilingual whereas bilingualism seems to strengthen the relationship between ethnic identity and wellbeing for Māori.

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