Demographics of inceldom: Difference between revisions

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This article discusses the '''demographics of [[inceldom]]'''. It sheds light on the prevalence and rising trends of [[inceldom]], and more broadly, of [[sexual frustration]], unstable [[Relationship|relationships]] and loneliness for both sexes, which is accompanied by a substantial trend [[Teleiophilic delay|towards later or no marriage]], i.e. a decline in [[marriage]] traditions, as well as declining engagement in risky behavior and declining independence from the parents (see also [[causes of inceldom]]).  

The data presented in this article examines both [[men]] who are likely to be incel based on their self-reported relationship status or [[nearcel]], as well as men who are explicitly self-identified as such, and who partake in the various online incel subcultures.

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==Surveys of self-identified incels ==

*Incels reported substantially higher adverse mental health symptoms than the control group. Self-identified incels were much less satisfied with their lives, more depressed, more anxious, and more lonely than non-incel men. This elevated mental distress [[mentalcel|may be a cause]] or [[Adverse effects of inceldom|a result of inceldom]], or both.

*Incels were slightly higher on sociosexuality than the control group of men, notably the desire facet of sociosexuality (the only one examined in this study). Higher sociosexuality means Costello's cohort of incels reported having higher libidos and more sexual fantasies than control men. Costello controlled for age (the control sample was older, as incels seem to be overwhelmingly young men). It is not surprising as prior research has found that being in a romantic relationship is associated with lower sociosexual desire among men (which may be a mere selection effect), and incels are de facto selected for higher sexual frustration. Statistical analysis revealed that incel's higher sociosexuality didn't seem to mediate their higher mental distress directly to any significant degree. This finding may support arguments that assert incels' problem 'isn't their lack of sex' per se, but rather the factors that cause this lack of sex (mental illness, low mating market value, lower SES etc).

* There was no significant difference between the groups of men in self-described political affiliation.

*Incels were more likely to be "BIPOC" ([[ethnicel|non-White]]) than expected by chance, according to Costello.<ref>https://www.psypost.org/2022/09/incels-exhibit-reduced-psychological-well-being-and-a-greater-tendency-for-interpersonal-victimhood-study-finds-63979</ref> Though the demographics of the incel sample were fairly close to the demographics of the United States at White: 63.58% BIPOC: 36.42%, and Americans were a large portion of his sample, so this effect does not seem to be overly large. This figure also roughly corresponds with the surveys conducted by incel community leaders, such as the admins of incels.is and the now defunct Reddit r/braincels. It further debunks claims that self-identified incels are disproportionately White men.

*Incels scored moderately higher on the psychological instrument measuring "tendency for interpersonal victimhood" employed in the study. This means the incels surveyed had a more external locus of control (feeling of little ability to alter one's life circumstances), a lack of empathy towards other's struggles (a weak effect), "moral elitism" (a belief in the moral superiority of oneself or one's group over others, presumably incels over 'normies' in this case) and rumination (in this case nurturing negative feelings regarding slights on has experienced, which is also a symptom or cause of depression). This basically means these incels were more [[blackpilled]] than the non-incel men.

*More incels reported living with their parents compared to non-incel men, though the effect was rather small (keeping in mind most incels are young, and living with your parents to an advanced age is now normative in Western countries). Interestingly, 20 of the "incels" surveyed reported they were cohabiting with a romantic partner, so these were either [[fakecels]] or incels/trolls deliberately attempting to spoil Costello's data.

*Belief in the permanency of inceldom was weakly associated with greater depression and loneliness scores among the incel sample. This may just be a tautological finding, as depression is generally associated with a defeatist attitude and a perception of a lack of agency.<ref>https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21502670/</ref> Greater incel forum use was weakly associated with higher levels of anxiety,

*Incels were less educated than control men. While a similar portion attained higher education at the undergraduate level, the incels were more likely to be high-school dropouts than control men and less likely to have a post-graduate university education.

*Incels were more likely to be [[NEET|NEETs]] (Not in Education Employment or Training) than non-incel men, though this effect was very small, with incels only being slightly more like to be NEET than would be expected by chance. Costello placed a high emphasis on incels' lower socioeconomic status as a cause of their inceldom, linking this finding to predominant evolutionary psychological theories of innate female economic hypergamy and desire for financial investment from their male partners.

*'''Demographic data'''

*Over twice as many incels reported currently using a dating app compared to non-incel males (46% and 20%, respectively). Sparks et al. (2022) previously reported that a sample of self-identified incels were much less likely to have photos with friends on their dating app profiles (18% vs. 52%). In this prior study, incels were less selective in their swiping, reporting being open to broader age and geographical ranges for potential matches. Despite this, incels also reported being less likely to talk to someone on a dating app and receiving fewer matches (reported match rate of 4.1% for incels and 31% for non-incels) than the non-incel group.<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/361189211_An_Exploratory_Study_of_Incels'_Dating_App_Experiences_Mental_Health_and_Relational_Well-_Being</ref>

*Most incels and non-incels self-identified as heterosexual (92.5% and 82.5%, respectively).

*43% of incels had an undergrad or higher degree, compared to 31% of the control group. This difference is insignificant when you control for age, as the control group was mostly first-year university students, which is also an obvious selection bias. The appropriate comparison would be a representative sample of men from equal portions of the countries the incel participants came from, which is inconvenient to carry out. Nevertheless, compared to the general US male population of a roughly similar age bracket, this sample of incels didn't seem to have a markedly lower education level,<ref>https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/pdf/coe_caa.pdf</ref> unlike what was found in Costello's sample. In fact, 22.4% of incels in this sample had a post-graduate degree, compared to 8% of US men in a similar age bracket. However, this survey's geographical heterogeneity and low sample size of incels would caution against drawing any conclusions from that information.

*There were no statistically significant differences between the groups regarding political beliefs (Mann-Whitney U test, ''z'' = 0.85621, ''p'' = 0.39).

*'''Mental health data''' (positive values are incels higher).

*Incels were more depressed (''d'' = 1.02).

*Incels were more anxious (''d'' = 0.59).

*Incels had lower self-esteem than control men (''d'' = -1.09).

*Incels were likelier to report an avoidant attachment style (''d'' = 0.74) and also more likely to report an anxious attachment style (''d'' = 0.45, 95% CI 0.14-0.76), which indicate lower views of attachment objects (such as family members and potential romantic partners) in the case of the former and negative views of themselves as an attachment object in the case of the latter (likely related to a greater fear of rejection, if the effect is robust).<ref>https://www.researchgate.net/publication/223185973_Development_and_validation_of_a_State_Adult_Attachment_Measure_SAAM</ref> Incels were less likely to report a secure attachment style (''d'' = -1.98).

*'''Dating attitudes'''

*Incels' self-perceived mate value was much lower than non-incels' (''d'' = -2.19).

*Incels reported lower levels of social support (''d'' = -1.37) and were more lonely (''d'' = 1.47).

*Incels also had higher levels of self-critical rumination (''d'' = 0.87).

*Incels reported being less likely to externalize blame than the non-incel men (''d'' = -0.39, 95% CI -0.08 to -0.70) though this finding seems less robust.

*The incels reported more use of solitary coping mechanisms on the amusingly named 'cope scale', such as venting (''d'' = 0.81, presumably primarily online) and self-blame (''d'' = 0.71), plus behavioral disengagement (''d'' = 1.13).

*Incels were less likely to rely on others for emotional support (''d'' = -0.88) or to [[cognitive behavioral therapy|attempt to 'reframe']] their negative thoughts in a more positive manner (''d''  = -0.56).

*Incels scored higher on sexual narcissism, though the measure used was only five items long and thus probably rather unreliable (''d'' = 0.5).

*Incels scored higher in social dominance orientation, which reflects endorsements of hierarchies (''d'' = 0.43, 95% CI: 0.09 - 0.72), another result that is possibly not robust.

*Incels were likelier to believe women were sexually deceptive, a belief generally associated with hostile sexism<ref>https://pages.nyu.edu/jackson/sex.and.gender/Readings/AmbivalentSexism-Sage17.pdf p. 895</ref> (''d'' = 1.01).

*'''Predictive model'''

* A predictive model containing these various independent variables on the dependent variable of incel vs. non-incel identification found that perceived mate value and avoidant attachment predicted membership in the incel group.<br>Intriguingly, perceived mate value alone predicted group membership with 86% accuracy. These results contradicted the authors' prediction, as they thought loneliness and lack of social connection would strongly indicate incel group membership. This finding could suggest that individuals in the 'incel' group may not be necessarily overly pessimistic about their prospects in the mating market, contrary to a common assumption. Instead, incels' self-perceptions may mostly accurately reflect their lower mate value, although the chief underlying causes remain to be determined. This finding also may indicate the higher levels of poor mental health in the incel group are downstream of the factors that make them incel and are not predictive of their incel status, as incels themselves commonly argue. However, that hypothesis remains to be tested thoroughly.

*'''COVID-19 Context'''

*The [[COVID-19]] pandemic was ongoing during the survey, and the concomitant lockdowns and social restrictions may have given some 'non-incels' a taste of the kind of social isolation incels regularly experience.<br>This interpretation was suggested by the fact that rates of negative affect were higher among the non-incels than other comparative pre-COVID samples. Thus, these effects are likely understated in magnitude.

===Rise in male sexlessness and singledom ===

|+ Virginity, by sex (NSFG 2006-2008)

! Age

*A study by Poortman and Liebroer that found that ''only roughly 4% of singles'' preferred their singlehood over being in a relationship.<ref>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2010.03.012</ref>

*Only 1% of the population self-identifies as asexual.<ref>https://health.usnews.com/health-news/health-wellness/articles/2015/05/04/asexuality-the-invisible-orientation</ref><ref name="asexuals">https://scholar.google.com/scholar?cluster=17133744500922136515&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5</ref>

*Sex is regarded as the most satisfying and joyous experience and ~70% of men report "sex is essential to feeling good about oneself".<ref name="ref25">https://incels.wiki/w/Scientific_Blackpill#Sex_is_the_most_pleasurable.2C_joyous.2C_and_meaningful_human_experience</ref>

*About half of adult virgins in their late 20s and early 30s report they do not feel attracted to the opposite sex, which counts as volceldom, however virginity is rare at this age, agreeing with the 1% figure for asexuals mentioned above.<ref name="haydon2013">Haydon, A. A., Cheng, M. M., Herring, A. H., McRee, A.-L., & Halpern, C. T. (2013). Prevalence and Predictors of Sexual Inexperience in Adulthood. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 43(2), 221–230. doi:10.1007/s10508-013-0164-3</ref>

*Only 11% of university students are [[volcel]]s,<ref name="telegraph2021"></ref> even though university students tend to be slow life history strategists.

*In a Greek cultural context, about half of adult singles are involuntary singles, but only 9.9-14.3% actually report being voluntary singles.<ref name="apostolou2019">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327420742_Are_People_Single_by_Choice_Involuntary_Singlehood_in_an_Evolutionary_Perspective</ref>

*Voluntary singles could be having casual sex otherwise and men who see prostitutes have sex, but may still count as [[incel#definition|incels]].

*Long-distance relationships, or celibacy motivated by religion, career or [[environmentalism]] might be reported as [[volcel|volceldom]], but such systemic circumstances could in truth actually be involuntary.

*Career-focused singles tend to report their singledom enables their career rather than them voluntarily forgoing sex to focus on their career.<ref>https://www.springer.com/de/book/9783658059231</ref>

|+ Had no sex in the past year, aged 18-30, by sex (GSS)

|z = 4.6, p < .00001  

==Commentary ==

=== Crossnational search term popularity===

| 89

| 81

|Ireland  

| 56

| 24

===China===

! colspan="1" |

! colspan="4" |Greek sample

! colspan="4" |Chinese sample  

!39<  

|0.8  

|4.2  

|3.9  

=== Norway===

====Nationwide survey ====

* More men than women reported sexual experience in all age brackets but the youngest (aged 18-19). However, as the sample size for the youngest age bracket was small, it is unknown if this difference is statistically significant. Among men in their 20s, around 25% were virgins (compared to around 35% of women in this age bracket). Virginity rates steadily decreased with age among men, with around 4% of men in their 30s still reporting a lack of sexual experience, compared to around 13% of women in their 30s.

* A more recent sexual survey on Turkish university students (mean age 20.79 ± 1.9) conducted in 2020 by Nazik et al. on students from "a university in the Mediterranian region of Turkey" found a roughly equal level of engagement in romantic relationships among the sexes, with 51% of the women reporting having previous "had a partner" as compared to 55% of the men.<ref>https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-biosocial-science/article/abs/gender-sexual-experiences-and-sexual-behavioural-differences-in-turkish-university-students/6F8789BE7F1562EF2D4EEC2CAEE422B1</ref><br />However, it was noted that actual engagement in the various kinds of sexual activity reported was higher among the females in the sample. This higher engagement in sexual activity among the women was chiefly limited to oral and anal sex.<br />This finding provides some credence to the idea of women in conservative Islamic countries [[hoejabi|frequently engaging in non-vaginal sexual intercourse]] in the belief that this will prevent their future husband from knowing of their pre-marital sexual behavior. It is important to note that total levels of engagement in sexual intercourse were low for both sexes, though, compared to university samples from other countries.

===United Kingdom ===