Objective-This report presents national estimates of several measures of sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity among males and females Methods-Data for 2006-2008 were collected through in-person interviews with a national sample of 13,495 males and females in the household population of the United States. The measures presented in this report were collected using audio computer-assisted self interviewing (ACASI), in which the respondent enters his or her own answers into the computer without telling them to an interviewer. The overall response rate for the 2006-2008 NSFG was 75%.Results-Sexual behaviors among males and females aged 15-44 based on the 2006-2008 NSFG were generally similar to those reported based on the 2002 NSFG. Among adults aged 25-44, about 98% of women and 97% of men ever had vaginal intercourse, 89% of women and 90% of men ever had oral sex with an opposite-sex partner, and 36% of women and 44% of men ever had anal sex with an opposite-sex partner. Twice as many women aged 25-44 (12%) reported any same-sex contact in their lifetimes compared with men (5.8%). Among teenagers aged 15-19, 7% of females and 9% of males have had oral sex with an opposite-sex partner, but no vaginal intercourse. Sexual attraction and identity correlates closely but not completely with reports of sexual behavior. Sexual behaviors, attraction, and identity vary by age, marital or cohabiting status, education, and race and Hispanic origin.

The longitudinal study of religious transmission or influence across generations is an important but underexamined area of research, particularly in terms of the religious influence of grandparents. How much influence do grandparents have on grandchildren's religious beliefs and practices, and has this changed over the past 30 years? As grandparents have become increasingly important in multigenerational families, do they exert an influence on their grandchildren's religiosity that is distinct from that of parents? Drawing on the Longitudinal Study of Generations (LSOG), this article uses grandparent—parent—grandchild triads and a generational sequential design to examine the transmission of three dimensions of religiosity — religious service attendance, religiousness and religious ideology — across generations from 1971 to 2000. Results indicate that in 1971 grandparents significantly influenced grandchildren's religious service attendance and religiousness, but these effects had weakened by 2000. The opposite pattern occurred for the transmission of conservative religious beliefs where there was a significant grandparent on grandchild effect in 2000, but not in 1971. Grandparents were also found to influence all three dimensions of grandchildren's religiosity independent of that of parents, suggesting that religious beliefs and practices formed within nuclear and extended families persist into adulthood with parents and grandparents simultaneously serving as independent and joint agents of religious socialization. In these analyses it was found that the influence of grandmothers on granddaughters' religiosity was especially pronounced. In general, the study shows a significant degree of religious influence across three generations in the family, and offers an expanded view of religious socialization by considering grandparents as active contributors to the religiosity of young adults.

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Preventing unintended pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, among adolescents is a public health priority. This report presents prevalence estimates for condom and contraceptive use among sexually active U.S. high school students from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Behaviors examined included any condom use, primary contraceptive method use, and condom use with a more effective contraceptive method, all reported at last sexual intercourse. Analyses were limited to sexually active students (i.e., those who had sexual intercourse with one or more persons during the 3 months before the survey). Except for any condom use, students reporting only same-sex sexual contact were excluded from analyses. Weighted prevalence estimates were calculated, and bivariate differences in prevalence were examined by demographic characteristics (sex, race/ethnicity, and grade) and other sexual risk behaviors (age of sexual initiation, previous 3-month and lifetime number of sex partners, and substance use before last sexual intercourse). Nationwide, 27.4% of high school students reported being sexually active (n = 3,226). Among sexually active students who reported having had sexual contact with someone of the opposite sex (n = 2,698), most students (89.7%) had used a condom or a primary contraceptive method at last sexual intercourse. Prevalence of any condom use at last sexual intercourse was 54.3%, and condoms were the most prevalent primary contraceptive method (43.9% versus 23.3% for birth control pills; 4.8% for intrauterine device [IUD] or implant; and 3.3% for shot, patch, or ring). Approximately 9% had used condoms with an IUD, implant, shot, patch, ring, or birth control pills. Using no pregnancy prevention method was more common among non-Hispanic black (23.2%) and Hispanic (12.8%) students compared with non-Hispanic white students (6.8%); compared with Hispanic students, using no pregnancy prevention method was more common among non-Hispanic black students. Prevalence of condom use was consistently lower among students with other sexual risk behaviors. Results underscore the need for public health professionals to provide quality sexual and reproductive health education and clinical services for preventing unintended pregnancy and STDs/HIV and decreasing disparities among sexually active youths.