Partnership Disparities and Educational Gradients Among LGB and Heterosexual Adults in the UK

Anna Caprinali , Department of Statistical Sciences - University of Padua

Existing evidence suggests that LGB adults face persistent inequalities across key areas of life, such as health and the labour market. Despite partnership being considered a key axis of social stratification in the general population, this domain remains comparatively under-researched in LGBTQ+ studies, particularly in Europe. Similarly, the role of educational attainment in shaping partnership dynamics among LGB people is still poorly understood, even though they tend to be more highly educated than heterosexual people. Using data from the UKHLS, this study examines how partnership chances and the timing of entry into first coresidential partnerships differ between LGB and heterosexual individuals across cohorts, and how education shapes these outcomes. The analytical strategy combines Coarsened Exact Matching with multinomial and Poisson regression models, using individual-clustered standard errors, alongside Kaplan–Meier analysis. Preliminary findings reveal a consistent pattern: LGB individuals, particularly gay men, are significantly less likely than their heterosexual peers to transition into a first coresidential partnership or to be partnered at any given time. Lower coupling rates among LGB people may reflect structural constraints, while fewer transitions into coresidential unions may point to less heteronormative life-course trajectories. Analyses of educational gradients show that medium-educated bisexual women and highly educated lesbian women are less likely to have a partner. Conversely, low-educated gay men show a higher likelihood of being partnered. Unlike among heterosexuals, no clear educational gradient in transitions to first coresidential partnership emerges for LGB individuals. If anything, education appears to increase transition rates for bisexual men and lesbian women.

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 Presented in Session P1. Families, Fertility, and the Life Course 1