Sexual Behavior in U.S. Adults Little Changed Since 2002
Most adults in the United States have experienced vaginal sex, but the number of younger adults reporting no sexual contact has increased since 2002, according to the March issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Statistics Report.
THURSDAY, March 3 (HealthDay News) -- Most adults in the United States have experienced vaginal sex, but the number of younger adults reporting no sexual contact has increased since 2002, according to the March issue of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health Statistics Report.
Anjani Chandra, Ph.D., of the CDC in Atlanta, and colleagues surveyed 13,495 individuals to estimate measures of sexual behavior, sexual attraction, and sexual identity among men and women 15 to 44 years of age in the United States.
The researchers found that the results for 2006 to 2008 were similar to those reported in 2002. Most adults age 25 to 44 had experienced vaginal sex, at 98 and 97 percent in females and males, respectively, and 89 and 90 percent had experienced oral sex with an opposite-sex partner; anal sex with an opposite-sex partner occurred in 36 percent of women and 44 percent of men. Same-sex contact occurred in twice as many women as men. The percentage of people 15 to 24 reporting never having had sexual contact rose from 22 percent in 2002 to 29 percent for females and 27 percent for males in 2006 to 2008. More women than men reported having had any same-sex contact in their lifetimes (13 versus 5.2 percent).
"Sexual attraction and identity correlates closely but not completely with reports of sexual behavior. Sexual behaviors, attraction, and identity vary by age, marital and cohabiting status, education, race and Hispanic origin," the authors write.
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