The sexual behavior of US adults: results from a national survey.

Abstract

IntroductionConsidering the wide range of sexrelated issues that are of great social and public health concern today (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome [AIDS] and other sexually transmitted diseases, un-wanted pregnancy, etc.) the need for data on sexual habits and behaviors in the general population is of considerable importance. Particularly crucial are data on sexual behaviors relevant to AIDS infection. ' Information on these behaviors is necessary not only for mathematical modeling of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) transmission2 but for understanding the cultural context of sexual activity in order to inform educational efforts to prevent AIDS.3,4 Yet such data on the US population are sorely lacking. For example, the distribution of the number of sexual contacts (both current and new partners) among individuals in the US population is currently unknown.5 This lack of current data has meant that public health officials have often been forced to use data collected by Kinsey and colleagues6 in their estimates ofthe number of individuals currently infected with HIV, despite the fact that these data are now more than 40 years old and fraught with a number of important limitations, including problems of sampling and interview design.5Since the time of the original Kinsey studies, there have been a number of important surveys of sexual activity of both adults7-9 and adolescents.'0'4 In to ensure maximum privacy. At the beginning of the interview with the designated respondent, an informed consent was read that gave details on the topics to be covered (including alcohol and druguse and sexual behavior) and included confidentiality assurances. All questions about sexual activity were contained in a 20-page self-administered questionnaire. Respondents filled out this booklet themselves and placed it in a sealed envelope that was collected by the interviewer. Respondents were sent $10 for their participation. MaterialsThe instrument consisted of both orally administered and self-administered segments. The self-administered questionnaire was administered at the end of the session; thus, questionnaire items on sexual behavior were answered last.Demographics. Standard demographic measures included sex, age, marital status, race, and educational level.Se-xual experience. Respondents were asked whether they had ever had sexual intercourse (vaginal or anal) and whether they had had intercourse in the last 5 years. Other questionnaire items asked respondents to indicate the number of sexual partners (not identified by sex) they had had in the last 5 years, 12 months, and 30 days, and to indicate their selfidentified sexual orientation (heterosexual, bisexual, or homosexual).Frequency of tercouwse and condom use withprnmarypartnen. One questionnaire item asked respondents to indicate how often they had had intercourse in the last 12 months with a primary partner (defined as "a person to whom you are married or someone to whom you feel committed above anyone else"). SeualActivity PattemsNinety-eight percent of t...

Patterns of Alcohol Use and Expectancies Predict Sexual Risk Taking Among Non-Problem Drinking Women

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