SIECUS Frequently Asked Questions

Where can I find national statistics on sexual behavior in the United States?

SIECUS Fact Sheet: The Truth About Adolescent Sexuality
This fact sheet provides data from available research on sexual behavior, including contraceptive use. It also examines studies and surveys that look at how adolescents feel about sexuality, how they make sexual decisions, how they view relationships, and what they know and want to know about sexuality.

Fertility, Family Planning, and Women's Health: New Data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), Vital and Health Statistics, May 1997, Series 23, No. 19.
This multipurpose study is based on personal interviews with a national sample of women 15 to 44 years of age in the civilian non-institutionalized population of the United States. Findings are on these topics: children ever born and total births expected; wanted and unwanted births; sexual intercourse; marriage and cohabitation; contraceptive use; fecundity, infertility, and sterilization operations; breastfeeding, maternity leave, and child care; adoption, stepchildren, and foster children; health insurance coverage; family planning and other medical services; cigarette smoking; HIV testing; pelvic inflammatory disease; and sexuality education.
Data Dissemination Branch, National Center for Health Statistics, U. S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 6525 Belcrest Road, Room 1064; Hyattsville, MD 20782; phone: 301/436-8500; Web site: http://www.cdc.gov/nchswww/nchshome.htm

National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
This study (called the “Add Health” study) is a Congressionally-mandated and federally funded school-based study of the health-related behaviors of adolescents in grades 7 through 12. It indicates that feelings of personal connection to home, family, and school are crucial for protecting young people from such risky behaviors as cigarette, alcohol and marijuana use, violent behavior, suicide, and early sexual intercourse. The study was originally reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
M. D. Resnick, et al, “Protecting Adolescents From Harm: Findings From the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health,” Journal of the American Medical Association, vol. 278, no. 10 (September 10, 1997), pp. 823-32.

National Survey of Adolescent Males (NSAM)
This national survey conducted in 1988 and 1995 includes data addressing sexual and contraceptive behavior of American males ages 15 to 19. It was originally designed as a counterpart to the NSFG. In 1998, an article was published in the American Journal of Public Health discussing the results related to sexual experience and condom use among adolescent males.
F. L. Sonenstein, Ph.D., et al, “Changes in Sexual Behavior and Condom Use among Teenaged Males,” American Journal of Public Health, vol. 88, no. 6 (June 1998), pp. 956-59.

The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States
This is a comprehensive study on sexual behavior. For this study, the National Opinion Research Center surveyed 3,432 American women and men between the ages of 18 and 59. The study includes statistics on oral intercourse, anal intercourse, vaginal intercourse, frequency of intercourse, sexual orientation, masturbation, and number of partners.
The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States Edward P. Laumann, John H. Gagnon, Robert T. Michael, and Stuart Michaels 2000; $30; ISBN 0 -226-47020-2; University of Chicago Press, 5801 South Ellis Avenue, Chicago, IL 60637; Phone: 773/568-1550; Fax: 773/660-2235; Web site: http://www.press.uchicago.edu

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS)
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance and the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) National Alternative High School surveys look at nationally representative samples of students in grades 9 through 12. They present statistics on sexual intercourse, condom use, birth control pill use, alcohol or drug use at last sexual intercourse, pregnancy, and HIV education. The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance (YRBS) National College Health Risk Behavior Survey presents statistics on sexual intercourse, contraceptive use, birth control pill use, condom use, alcohol and drug use at last sexual intercourse, and pregnancy among college students. These studies are conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).