Opposite-sex Partners Research Articles

Heterosexual Practices Among Young People in Britain: Evidence From Three National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles

PurposeTo describe time trends and current patterns in sexual practices with opposite-sex partners among men and women aged 16–24 years in Britain. MethodsComplex survey analyses of cross-sectional probability survey data from three British National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal), conducted approximately decennially 1990–2012, involving interviews with 45,199 people in total. ResultsBirth cohort analysis showed a decline in the median age at first sexual experience and first intercourse since the midtwentieth century and a narrowing of the interval between these events. Comparison of data from Natsals 1, 2, and 3 showed increases in the prevalence of ever experience of oral and anal sex among 16- to 24-year-olds, which were more marked among older respondents in this age group between Natsals 1 and 2, and among younger respondents between Natsals 2 and 3. Among the sexually active, vaginal and oral sex remained the most common combination of practices reported in the past year. The proportion reporting a past-year repertoire of vaginal, oral, and anal sex rose from approximately one in 10 in 1990–1991 to approximately one in four men and one in five women in 2010–2012. In the latest survey, heterosexual experience of practices was positively associated with bisexual attraction among women. ConclusionsRecent decades have seen an earlier age at initiation of partnered sexual experiences and increased diversity in heterosexual practices among young people. Keeping pace with trends in sexual practices is necessary to safeguard young people's health and to support them in increasing their sexual well-being.

Receipt of Selected Preventive Health Services for Women and Men of Reproductive Age - United States, 2011-2013.

Receipt of Selected Preventive Health Services for Women and Men of Reproductive Age - United States, 2011-2013.

Dimensions of sexual orientation and sleep disturbance among young adults.

We examined associations among 3 dimensions of sexual orientation (identity, attraction, and behavior) and sleep disturbance among young adults in the United States. Using Wave IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (respondents aged 24–32, N = 14,334), we ran multivariate logistic regressions to estimate the probability of reporting trouble falling asleep, trouble staying asleep, and short sleep duration, based on specific sexual orientation categories.Results after controlling for mental health indicate that these categories are more likely to have trouble falling asleep: women who identify as “bisexual” (OR = 1.85, CI: 1.21,2.82), women attracted to “both sexes” (OR = 1.31, CI: 1.00,1.72), women who have had “mostly opposite sex” partners (OR = 1.40, CI: 1.10,1.77), and men who have had “mostly same sex” partners (OR = 2.28, CI: 1.21,4.31). For trouble staying asleep: women who identify as “bisexual” (OR = 1.48, CI: 1.01,2.18), men and women attracted to “both sexes” (OR = 1.81, CI: 1.12,2.91; OR = 1.27, CI: 1.00,1.60), and women who have had “mostly opposite sex partners” (OR = 1.38, CI: 1.13,1.69). For short sleep duration: women who identify as “mostly straight” or “mostly gay” (OR = 1.27, CI: 1.01,1.60; OR = 2.64, CI: 1.36,5.14), men who identify as “bisexual” (OR = 2.56, CI: 1.26,5.18), women attracted only to “same sex” (OR = 2.42, CI: 1.48,3.96), men attracted to “both sexes” (OR = 1.88, CI: 1.21,2.93), and women who have had “mostly same sex” partners (OR = 4.90, CI: 2.10,11.46). Given the variation in findings, it is necessary to analyze each sexual orientation dimension and the categories within each dimension to adequately understand sleep disturbances among sexual minority populations.

Contraceptive Sterilization: Introducing A Couple Perspective to Examine Sociodemographic Differences in Use.

Most studies of contraceptive use have relied solely on the woman's perspective, but because men's attitudes and preferences are also important, analytic approaches based on couples should also be explored. Data from the 2006-2010 and 2011-2013 rounds of the National Survey of Family Growth yielded a sample of 4,591 men and women who were married or cohabiting with an opposite-sex partner and who had completed their intended childbearing. Respondents' reports of both their own and their partners' characteristics and behaviors were employed in two sets of analyses examining educational and racial and ethnic differences in contraceptive use: an individualistic approach (using multinomial logistic regression) and a couple approach (using multinomial logistic diagonal reference models). In the full model using the individualistic approach, respondents with less than a high school education were less likely than those with at least a college degree to rely on male sterilization (odds ratios, 0.1-0.2) or a reversible method (0.4-0.5), as opposed to female sterilization. Parallel analyses limited to couples in which partners had the same educational levels (i.e., educationally homogamous couples) showed an even greater difference between those with the least and those with the most schooling (0.03 for male sterilization and 0.2 for a reversible method). When race and ethnicity, which had a much higher level of homogamy, were examined, the approaches yielded more similar results. Research on contraceptive use can benefit from a couple approach, particularly when focusing on partners' characteristics for which homogamy is relatively low.

Usporedba ishoda djece iz obitelji istospolnih i raznospolnih partnera: osvrt na kvantitativne studije provedene na slučajnim reprezentativnim uzorcima

Usporedba ishoda djece iz obitelji istospolnih i raznospolnih partnera: osvrt na kvantitativne studije provedene na slučajnim reprezentativnim uzorcima

The evolution of female same-sex attraction: The male choice hypothesis

Prevalence studies indicate that about one in five women experience some degree of same-sex attraction. The evolutionary origins of such attraction are not well understood. Accordingly, this paper proposed a theoretical framework where, during the period of human evolution, same-sex attractions in women were under positive selection. The source of positive selection has been male preferences for opposite-sex sex partners who experienced same-sex attractions. This theoretical framework was used to generate four predictions that were tested in two online studies which employed a total of 1509 heterosexual participants. It was found that heterosexual women did not desire partners who experienced same-sex attractions, but a considerable proportion of heterosexual men desired partners who experienced same-sex attractions. In addition, it was found that men were more sexually excited than women by the same-sex infidelity of their partners, and they desired more than women, their opposite-sex partners to have sex with same-sex individuals. Finally, participants' preferences were contingent on the seriousness of the relationships, with same-sex attraction to be preferred more in short-term than in a long-term partner. These findings were employed in understanding the evolutionary origins of same-sex attraction in women.

The Effect of Body Touch on Intimacy and Self-Acceptance

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between intimacy and body touch, self-acceptance, with marital partner. Being in a sexless marriage tends to be connected with the crisis of the couple. However, there is report stating that 42.2% of couples in Japan are not having sex more than once a month (Japanese Family Planning Association, 2017) with satisfied with the relationship. We clarify the effect that the frequency of body touch on the degree of satisfaction and the intimacy evaluation. We analyzed the reporting of conducted survey in a national Japanese sample of 323 adult males and females respondents to a questionnaire survey. There were 117 males and 206 females, the average age was 44.03 years old. This survey shows that the body touch gave the feeling, “bond of the trust” formed in long-term relationships with the marriage partner, “sense of opposite sex partner approval” treated as female, male by partner sexual encounters. The relationship satisfaction tends to decrease with time. The average time of body touch was two or three times per day. Though the body touch in the marital status of our country was lower than other countries, we found a close link between physical touch and intimacy and love. It is necessary to consider of culture and historical differences in the physical contact.

Factors Associated With Condom Use Among Sexually Active US Adults, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010 and 2011–2013

BackgroundCondom-less sex can increase the risk of acquiring or transmitting HIV. AimTo characterize the prevalence of condom use at the most recent sex act and identify factors associated with use of a condom at the most recent sex act in adults in the United States. MethodsData from the cross-sectional National Survey of Family Growth from cycles 2006 through 2010 and 2011 through 2013 were analyzed for sexually active men and women 18 to 44 years old who reported having sex (vaginal, anal, or oral) with an opposite-sex partner in the past 12 months. HIV-related sexual risk behaviors (SRBs) in the past 12 months included sex with at least four opposite-sex partners; exchanging sex for money or drugs; sex with an injection drug user; sex with an HIV-positive person; sex with a man who previously had sex with a man (women only); sex with a man (men only); or sex with a partner who had sex with other partners. OutcomesThe outcome for this analysis was condom use at the most recent anal or vaginal sex act. ResultsOverall prevalence of condom use was 24.8%; only 33.8% of adults with at least one SRB reported the use of a condom. Only 46.4% of unmarried or single men (vs 14.7% married or cohabitating men) and 32.3% unmarried or single women (vs 14.1% married or cohabitating women) with SRBs reported using a condom at the most recent sexual encounter and were less likely to use a condom at the most recent sexual encounter compared with those who did not report SRBs. We did not find a significant relation between using a condom and SRBs in married or cohabitating men and women. Strengths and LimitationsOur analysis adds to the literature on how condom use varies by marital status. We measured the use of condoms at the most recent sexual act, which might not reflect an individual's previous behavior of condom use. Nonetheless, condom use at the most recent sexual act has been documented in previous studies as a valid proxy of condom use over time. ConclusionContinued efforts are needed to promote condom use in heterosexual adults in the United States, particularly those at high risk for HIV, namely individuals engaging in anal sexual acts and with multiple sex partners.Nasrullah M, Oraka E, Chavez PR, et al. Factors Associated With Condom Use Among Sexually Active US Adults, National Survey of Family Growth, 2006–2010 and 2011–2013. J Sex Med 2017;14:541–550.

Sexual Trajectories of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Adults in the Netherlands.

Studies on sexual trajectories of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) people generally focus on the first same-sex attraction and sexual experience, and their relation to self-identification and coming out as LGB. Relational and opposite-sex experiences are generally not taken into account. The aim of this study was to provide a more comprehensive overview of LGBs' sexual trajectories and to distinguish subsamples with different trajectories. A sample of same-sex attracted members of an online research panel (N=3054) completed a sexual health questionnaire, including items about the timing of sexual and relational milestones. Results showed that the majority of gay men and lesbian women had same-sex sexual and relational experiences, whereas most bisexual men and women had had experiences with the opposite sex. Among gay men and lesbian women, two trajectories emerged, differing mainly on whether people had been sexually or romantically involved with opposite-sex partners, and on age of first same-sex attraction. Among those who were not exclusively attracted to the same sex, six patterns emerged, which differed especially with regard to the nature and comprehensiveness of their same-sex experiences. Within the exclusively same-sex attracted group, the trajectory with no heterosexual experiences related to higher levels of psychological adjustment. For non-exclusive sexually attracted people, trajectories including experience of same-sex relationships seem to be most beneficial. In conclusion, both relational and opposite-sex experiences proved to be important elements of LGB men and women's sexual trajectories.

Changes in the Distribution of Sex Partners in the United States: 2002 to 2011-2013.

The purpose of the current analysis is to examine subgroup differences in the distribution of opposite-sex sex partners in the United States across an approximate 10-year period to identify patterns that may inform sexually transmitted infection research and prevention. Data were drawn from the 2002 and 2011-2013 National Survey of Family Growth, a US probability-based household survey focusing on sexual and reproductive health. The measures included in this analysis were lifetime opposite-sex sex partners and opposite-sex sex partners in the past year. Analyses were conducted separately for men and women. All analyses were conducted in R and R-studio with the "survey" package, focusing on medians, the 80th, and 95th quartile. In 2002, there were significant differences between men and women in median number of lifetime sex partners with men reporting more lifetime partners. However, in the 2011-2013 data, these differences are no longer significant. Still, the findings suggest that the top 20% and top 5% of men are reporting significantly more lifetime partners than their female counterparts. In comparison, partners in the past year remain relatively unchanged for both men and women. These findings suggest that there were important changes in the distribution of sex partners between 2002 and 2011-2013 that have implications for sexually transmitted infection prevention. Median lifetime partners are no longer different for women and men: however, the distribution of lifetime partners among men is becoming even more skewed.

Cortisol increases in response to brief social exchanges with opposite sex partners

Researchers recently demonstrated that cortisol increases in response to mating-relevant social interactions. An important next step is investigating factors that explain individual differences in cortisol reactivity within these contexts. The current study examined demographic, situational, and individual difference predictors of cortisol reactivity following brief, non-face-to-face interactions with potential dating partners. College students made a video introducing themselves to another participant. During another appointment, they watched a short video of an opposite-sex confederate introducing himself/herself, and believed the other person was watching their video. Participants were told they would get to know the confederate more during a web-chat, which never took place. Participants received either rejection, acceptance, or no feedback from the confederate. Cortisol levels increased over baseline in all feedback conditions. Cortisol increases were particularly strong for participants who perceived the confederate as a more desirable dating partner, participants who were independently rated as a less desirable partner, and men.

Prevalence and correlates of condom use among sexually active men who have sex with men in the United States: findings from the National Survey of Family Growth, 2002, 2006-10 and 2011-13.

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately at risk of contracting HIV and other sexually transmissible infections (STIs). Correct and consistent condom use is the most effective method to prevent HIV and other STIs among sexually active MSM. Using data from the 2002, 2006-10, 2011-13 cycles of the National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), the overall prevalence of condom use at last sex and by sexual risk behaviours (sex with ≥2 same-sex partners, sex with ≥2 opposite sex partners, sex with a person who injects drugs, sex with an HIV-positive person and exchanged sex for money or drugs) among sexually active MSM (reported oral or anal sex with a male in the preceding 12 months) was estimated. The association between condom use at last sex and demographic and sexual behaviour variables was also evaluated. Approximately 31% of all respondents (n=618; weighted n=1596702) reported condom use at last sex. Among MSM who reported ≥1 sexual risk behaviour in the past year, prevalence of condom use at last sex ranged from 30 to 38%. After adjusting for covariates, Hispanic MSM [adjusted prevalence ratio (APR)=1.81, 95%CI=1.27-2.58] were more likely than White MSM to report condom use at last sex; MSM with a recently diagnosed STI (APR=1.71, 95%CI=1.04-2.80) were more likely than MSM without a recently diagnosed STI to report condom use at last sex; and married or cohabitating MSM (APR=0.29, 95%CI=0.13-0.66) were less likely than unmarried and not cohabitating MSM to report condom use at last sex. There was no difference in temporal trends in condom use at last sex across the three NSFG cycles [2002 (33.8%); 2006-10 (25.6%); 2011-13 (40.6%), P=0.926]. This study data suggest that prevalence of condom use among MSM is low, even among MSM who report sexual risk behaviours. The continued promotion of consistent condom use as an effective primary HIV/STI risk-reduction strategy is important because it mitigates HIV and STI risk and also complements the effectiveness of newer HIV prevention approaches such as pre-exposure prophylaxis.

Firefly Mating Algorithm for Continuous Optimization Problems.

This paper proposes a swarm intelligence algorithm, called firefly mating algorithm (FMA), for solving continuous optimization problems. FMA uses genetic algorithm as the core of the algorithm. The main feature of the algorithm is a novel mating pair selection method which is inspired by the following 2 mating behaviors of fireflies in nature: (i) the mutual attraction between males and females causes them to mate and (ii) fireflies of both sexes are of the multiple-mating type, mating with multiple opposite sex partners. A female continues mating until her spermatheca becomes full, and, in the same vein, a male can provide sperms for several females until his sperm reservoir is depleted. This new feature enhances the global convergence capability of the algorithm. The performance of FMA was tested with 20 benchmark functions (sixteen 30-dimensional functions and four 2-dimensional ones) against FA, ALC-PSO, COA, MCPSO, LWGSODE, MPSODDS, DFOA, SHPSOS, LSA, MPDPGA, DE, and GABC algorithms. The experimental results showed that the success rates of our proposed algorithm with these functions were higher than those of other algorithms and the proposed algorithm also required fewer numbers of iterations to reach the global optima.

Is Homosexuality more Prevalent in Agropastoral than in Hunting and Gathering Societies? Evidence from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample

A small but important portion of the population is attracted to individuals of the same sex. This phenomenon raises the question, why selection forces have allowed such dispositions to exist in the population. The weak selection pressures hypothesis, argues that same-sex attraction has been the result of weak selection pressures during the period of human evolution. Such pressures were predominantly the consequence of arranged marriage in which individuals, irrespectively of their attractions, are mated to opposite-sex partners. Arranged marriage is more common in societies which base their subsistence on agriculture and animal husbandry than in societies which base their subsistence on hunting and gathering. Accordingly, it is predicted that homosexuality would be more prevalent in the former than in the latter societies. Using anthropological evidence from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, the present study finds support for this hypothesis. The evolutionary implications of this evidence are further discussed.

Third Space Masculinities

Grounded in everyday life, the practice of male same-sex relations is neither uncommon nor a dominant trend but rather a renegotiated space for many young men in Turkey today. This unnamed practice creates a “third space” that forms and transforms young men’s alternative sexual subject positions. My conversations with young men revealed that in this third space the male body comes to terms with a new form of masculinity and male sexual pleasure that destabilizes both heteronormativity and homosexuality. I conducted fieldwork in Ankara, Turkey, between 2003 and 2005 to study the rhetorical uses of language in the context of virginity examinations. My study was based on participatory action research methods, and my field sites included a squatter settlement, a village, and an upper-class neighborhood. While there is a large literature on homosexuality and same-sex relations in Iran and the Arab world, this essay adds to the emerging scholarship that focuses on Turkey through its identification of a “third space” masculinity and its examination of not only urban but also rural and semiurban areas.Young men who engage in same-sex practices often seek release from the material conditions of social norms governing premarital sexuality and virginity. Men who have sex with men do not have a language to name the sexual activities they engage in. They neither use terms such as homosexual or gay nor conflate their sexual encounters with homoerotic desire similar to what Huseyin Tapinc’s (1992) research revealed in Turkey. Rather, they perform their sexualities in a ritualized manner to prove their maleness or abilities at penetrating. Hence rather than ascribing to a sexual orientation or gender identity, men who have sex with men build an alternative sexual space where they reconfigure masculine sexual behavior.In the newly configured third space of male same-sex practices, where affection and romance mostly do not reside, roles and meanings associated with masculinity, heterosexuality, and homosexuality blur. Contained in spaces reserved for young men, men who have sex with men do not depart from heterosexuality toward homosexuality. Rather, the third spaces they create are sites of response to social codes that prohibit sexual encounters between men and women. Hence men who have sex with men are dissidents renegotiating their sexualities and redrawing the boundaries of what may be possible in a culture of compulsory virginity. The third space is a way to reinscribe sexual behavior and build solidarity in the spaces reserved for men where opposite sex partner relationships are not available. However, this is not to say that male same-sex sexuality is always a direct consequence of norms regarding virginity and women’s seclusion. As Afsaneh Najmabadi (2006) points out, it can be reductive and totalizing to always attribute same-sex sexuality to societal practices such as gender segregation and veiling.The third space masculinity in the Turkish context illuminates modes of sexuality that lack a linguistic space. Situated in a context that legitimates only marital heteronormative sexual behavior and pleasure, men who have sex with men live in a culture of secrecy and silence. Yet, in spite of the lack of a language, this third space masculinity speaks in other ways. First, third space is liberating in its attempt to create a medium through which entry into a sexual subjectivity is sought without privileging a sexual identity or sexual orientation. Second, it is a space of critique and empowerment that makes a potential argument for sexual freedom a possibility. In this nondiscursive space silence seeks to break away from repressed sexualities. Although an everyday language to name it does not exist, this space is a means of coming to terms with societal norms and men’s relationships to each other. Without female participation, it is a space where patriarchal economies are reproduced; it is a male-defined marginal space structured around the male body and the phallus.The presence of this male domain points to the need to develop a new discourse to theorize the unnamed third space and its implications. As an alternative space partly created in response to societal constraints, third space masculinities provide an opportunity to rethink male sexuality and masculinity in the heteronormative order. Instead of totalizing men’s and women’s experiences with patriarchy, the third space masculinity in Turkey can broaden the possibilities of using a new nuanced language to contextualize and theorize how patriarchal patterns in society shape masculinities and male sexualities as well. Finally, third space masculinities in Turkey have the potential to contribute to the feminist agenda by addressing unnamed but lived sexualities, so that individuals’ experiences with sexuality are not totalized but grounded in everyday stories to capture nuanced sexual subjectivities that move beyond the heterosexual versus homosexual dualism.

Revisiting Depression Contagion as a Mediator of the Relation Between Depression and Rejection: A Speed-Dating Study.

Interpersonal theories of depression postulate that depressed individuals' experience of social isolation is attributable, in part, to their tendency to behave in ways that elicit rejection from others. Depression contagion has been implicated as a factor that may account for the rejection of depressed individuals. The current study revisits this hypothesis using a controlled, but realistically motivated setting: speed-dating. Approximately two weeks before the speed-dating event, participants' depression levels were assessed. During the event, participants had four-minute "dates" with opposite-sex partners. After each date, they responded to items measuring their affect and romantic attraction. At the end of the evening, participants indicated which partners they wanted to see again. Our results did not support depression contagion: after four minutes of interaction with partners with high levels of depressive symptoms, participants did not experience increased negative affect; instead, they experienced reduced positive affect, which led to the rejection of these partners.

The evolution of same-sex attractions: Parental and intimate partners' reactions to deviations from exclusive heterosexual orientation

A considerable portion of the population experiences same-sex attractions. One possible factor that accounts for this phenomenon is that the selection pressures, coming predominantly from parents and intimate partners, exercised on sexual orientation in ancestral human societies had been weak. Based on this evolutionary framework, three hypotheses are derived and tested: First, it is hypothesized that men are less distressed than women by the same-sex attractions of their opposite-sex partners. Second, it is hypothesized that parents are less distressed by the same-sex attractions of their daughters than of their sons. Finally, the hypothesis is tested that the distress of intimate partners and parents over the sexual attractions of their mates and children respectively, is contingent upon the degree of the same-sex attractions: The more these deviate from exclusive heterosexual orientation, the stronger the reactions will be. Evidence from two independent studies finds support for all three hypotheses. These findings are applied in understanding the prevalence of same-sex attractions in contemporary populations.

P025 Improving local sexual health services for lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) people

Background/introduction LGBT people have different care needs to other sexual health clinic attendees. Many STIs are known to disproportionately affect men who have sex with men (MSM). We wished to ascertain how to optimise LGBT, and in particular MSM, service provision by our urban sexual health clinic. Methods 100 questionnaires were completed by attendees to the local Pride event. Results 61 respondents self-defined as female, 34 male, 4 transman and 1 demifem. 27 (20 women, 4 men) stated their sexual partners were both male and female, 38 (12 women, 25 men) had same-sex partners, and 34 (28 women, 5 men) had opposite-sex partners only. 81 had not attended the local clinic. Reasons for this included previously living elsewhere (22), not feeling they required the service (15) or not knowing it existed (9). 67 reported they would like a specific LGBT sexual health clinic, with 63 requesting evening clinics. 9 did not want specific clinics, with 2 respondents citing concerns about discrimination. 61 felt more LGBT sexual health services outside the city centre are needed. Features they would like included web-based bookings (64), home-testing kits (49), pre-exposure prophylaxis (79) and HPV vaccination (69). Discussion/conclusion The questionnaire was successful in capturing opinions of those who hadn’t previously attended our service. However it is not possible to ascertain whether views expressed were representative of the local LGBT population as a whole and less than a third were MSM. We will consider developing a specific LGBT service in response to the survey’s findings.

HPV infection among a population-based sample of sexual minority women from USA

ObjectivesSexual minority women are at risk for infection with human papillomavirus (HPV); yet, relatively little is known about the prevalence of HPV infection among this population.MethodsWe analysed data from the...

Eligibility and Coverage Trends in Employer-Sponsored Insurance

This Visualizing Health Policy infographic looks at eligibility and coverage trends in employer-sponsored health insurance. Since 2000, the share of workers covered by employers’ health benefits at both offering and nonoffering firms has dropped to 56%, with the biggest decrease among employees working for small firms (3-199 workers). Among people younger than 65 years, those with lower incomes continued to be less likely to have coverage from an employer-sponsored health plan, as has been the trend since 1999. In 2015, larger firms were more likely than smaller ones to offer health benefits, as were organizations with more higher-wage employees, fewer lower-wage employees, and fewer workers 26 years or younger. Most large employers offered coverage to spouses and other dependents, while fewer than half of these firms offered coverage to same-sex or opposite-sex domestic partners. Few firms took action in 2015 in response to the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, including changing some jobs from part-time to full-time so employees would be eligible for coverage.