American adults engage in a wide range of sexual repertoires, according to the largest nationally representative study of sexual behaviors ever carried out in the USA, published in the latest issue of Journal of Sexual Medicine. It appears US adults do not tend to engage in merely one sex act when they have sex, the researchers wrote.
The writers, from the Center for Sexual Health Promotion (CSHP) in Indiana University’s School of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation (HPER), say their findings provide a snapshot of current American sexual behaviors, which include details of over forty combinations of sexual acts that individuals engage in during sexual encounters, as well as data on condom usage by adults and teenagers, and the proportion of Americans who take part in encounters with members of the same sex.
The study, called the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), is one of the most wide-ranging over the last twenty years and includes details on sexual experiences and condom-usage of 5,865 individuals aged between 14 and 94.
Michael Reece, director of the Center for Sexual Health Promotion, said:
This survey is one of the most expansive nationally representative studies of sexual behavior and condom use ever conducted, given the 80-year span of ages. These data about sexual behaviors and condom use in contemporary America are critically needed by medical and public health professionals who are on the front lines addressing issues such as HIV, sexually transmissible infections and unintended pregnancy.
The researchers report that 33% of vaginal intercourses among single individuals in the USA are done with a condom, compared to 25% of vaginal intercourses generally.
Reece said:
, These data, when compared to other studies in the recent past, suggest that although condom use has increased among some groups, efforts to promote the use of condoms to sexually active individuals should remain a public health priority.
The authors say the study results will attract the interest of health professionals and members of the general public.
Debby Herbenick, associate director of the CSHP,said:
People are often curious about others’ sex lives. They want to know how often men and women in different age groups have sex, the types of sex they engage in, and whether they are enjoying it or experiencing sexual difficulties. Our data provide answers to these common sex questions and demonstrate how sex has changed in the nearly 20 years since the last study of its kind.
Individuals’ condom use behaviors vary, depending on their age and certain stages of their relationships.
Herbenick added:
(The) findings show that condoms are used twice as often with casual sexual partners as with relationship partners, a trend that is consistent for both men and women across age groups that span 50 years.
Even though US adults now engage in a much wider variety of sexual repertoires, vaginal intercourse is still the most common adult sexual act. A significant number of sexual acts do not involve intercourse, but oral sex and masturbation instead, the researchers found. condom usage is higher among African-Americans and Hispanic-Americans compared to Caucasian-Americans.
Dennis Fortenberry, M.D., professor of pediatrics in the IU School of Medicine, who led the adolescent aspects of the study, said:
Many surveys of adolescent sexual behavior create an impression that adolescents are becoming sexually active at younger ages, and that most teens are sexually active,” Fortenberry said. “Our data show that partnered sexual behaviors are important but by no means pervasive aspects of adolescents’ lives. In fact, many contemporary adolescents are being responsible by abstaining or by using condoms when having sex.
The survey also found:
- Over 40 combinations of sexual activity among adults’ reported most recent sexual encounter.
- Adults aged 40+ have the lowest rate of condom usage. Even though older people are not so concerned about pregnancy risk, perhaps they need to be reminded about STI (sexually transmitted infection) risk and prevention.
- Older adults are enjoying sex more than ever before.
- 85% of males say their sexual partner had an orgasm last time they had sex.
- 64% of females say they themselves had an orgasm last time they had sex.
- Males are more likely to reach orgasm when the sexual act includes vaginal intercourse.
- A variety of sex acts are more likely to help a female reach orgasm. Women are also more likely to reach orgasm when vaginal intercourse and/or oral sex is included in the repertoire.
- 8% of males and 7% of females said they were bisexual, gay or lesbian. However, the percentage of people who said they had had same-sex interactions at some time during their lives was higher than 7% or 8%.
- The majority of American adolescents are not engaged in sexual acts with a partner at any given time snapshot. 40% of 17-year-old boys said they had had vaginal sex during the previous twelve months. 27% of 17-year-old boys said they had had vaginal sex during the previous 3 months.
- Rating sexual extent was not altered by condom usage – i.e. people reported the same levels of pleasure regardless of whether or not they had been using a condom.
National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB) – Indiana University
Written by Christian Nordqvist