Lifetime abstention of sexual intercourse and health in middle-aged and older adults: results from Wave 2 of the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions

Sexual activity in a large representative cohort of Polish men: Frequency, number of partners, correlates, and quality of life

INTRODUCTION

Sexual activity of men has been evaluated at the population-level in different regions of the world. However, reliable data are lacking for Eastern Europe. Therefore, the aim of this study was to analyze the frequency of sexual activity and the number of sexual partners in a large representative cohort of Polish men.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional investigation with computer-assisted web interviews. Participants were stratified by age (≥18 years) and place of residence. The most recent population census was used to produce a population-representative sample of respondents. Men's sexual activity was then correlated with multiple variables.

RESULTS

We enrolled 3001 men, representative for age and place of residence, including adequate proportions of respondents from urban and rural areas. Most Polish men were sexually active, predominantly having had sex at least weekly with one partner. Almost 18% of respondents declined sexual intercourse and/or sexual partner in the prior year. The highest sexual activity was observed for men 35-44-years-old (for sex frequency) and 18-24-years-old (for partner number), living in medium-sized cities, employed, and married (for sex frequency) or divorced (for partner number). Erectile dysfunction negatively affected the frequency of sexual activity and lowered the number of sexual partners, although premature ejaculation did not have any effect. Frequency of sexual activity and number of sexual partners correlated well with psychological distress, quality of sex life, and overall life quality. Whereas lifestyle habits including smoking and alcohol intake decreased the likelihood of sexual activity, all analyzed comorbidities did not affect sex life.

CONCLUSIONS

This study of men's sexual activity was the first population-representative and nationwide investigation performed in Poland. Most Polish men were sexually active and sexual activity correlated with multiple variables including sociodemographic factors, erectile functioning, mental distress, overall and sex-specific quality of life, and lifestyle habits.

Asexual Identity, Personality, and Social Motivations in a New Zealand National Sample

Growing research interest in asexuality has led to several notable findings around the differences between asexual people and those with other sexual orientations. These findings have recently extended to personality, but questions remain around differences in personality between asexual people and others. Furthermore, qualitative and quantitative research disagrees about whether asexual people are less interested in close relationships than others. This paper used data from a nationally representative sample of self-identified asexual participants (Analysis 1: n_women = 216, n_men = 54, n_{gender diverse} = 13; Analysis 2: n_women = 53, n_men = 19, n_{gender diverse} = 3) and matched samples of heterosexual and lesbian, gay, and bisexual/plurisexual (LGB) participants (N's = 75-283) drawn from the New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study (Ns = 19,396-54,183) to explore personality (Analysis 1) and approach and avoidance social motivations (Analysis 2). Compared to heterosexuals, asexual participants reported significantly lower extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, and higher emotionality, openness, and honesty-humility. Compared to those who identified as LGB, asexual participants reported significantly lower extraversion and agreeableness and higher honesty-humility. In addition, asexual participants scored significantly lower on approach (but not avoidance) social motivation than both heterosexual and LGB participants, indicating that they are less motivated to enhance positive experiences and behavior in their social relationships. These results help to clarify how personality and social motivations covary with sexual identity.

How Do Parents Teach "No Means No"? An Exploration of How Sexual Consent Beliefs Are Socialized During Adolescence

Research on sexual consent has increased in recent years, but we know almost nothing about how beliefs about consent are socialized during adolescence, which likely has important implications for behaviors related to obtaining sexual consent. The current study explored the frequency of parent-adolescent consent communication, as well as demographic, adolescent, and parent predictors of adolescents' beliefs about the importance of consent and the frequency of parent-adolescent consent communication. Two national samples were used, one consisting of 2,044 adolescents, ages 13 to 18 (M _age = 16.19, SD = 1.71; 50% female), and a second sample of 2,081 nonrelated individuals, ages 28 to 81, who were parents of teens ages 13-18 (M _age = 15.25, SD = 1.56). Findings suggested that parents did not talk about sexual consent any more than they did about other sexual topics (e.g., reproduction). We also found that maternal warmth was positively associated with adolescents' importance of consent beliefs and that adolescents' uninhibited temperament and parents' self-efficacy and sexual beliefs were associated with parent-adolescent consent communication. The discussion focuses on the need to educate parents so they feel more confident talking to adolescents about the importance of giving and receiving sexual consent.

Sociodemographic Correlates of Sexlessness Among American Adults and Associations with Self-Reported Happiness Levels: Evidence from the U.S. General Social Survey

Although sexual activity is commonly believed to be a key component of emotional well-being, little is known about the factors associated with the absence of sexual activity or its associations with self-reported happiness. Using the U.S. General Social Survey-National Death Index 2008 dataset, a series of nationally representative surveys (1988-2002), this study analyzed the sociodemographic and lifestyle factors associated with past-year sexlessness and self-reported happiness among American adults (n = 17,744). After adjustment for marital status, there were no significant time trends evident in the proportion of American adults reporting past-year sexlessness. Among participants (age = 18-89 years), 15.2% of males and 26.7% of females reported past-year sexlessness while 8.7% of males and 17.5% of females reported no sex for 5 years or more. For both genders, past-year sexlessness was most strongly associated with older age and being currently non-married in the multivariable models. Among males, the multivariable analysis also showed that sexlessness was associated with providing less than 20% of the household income (OR 2.27). In female participants, sexlessness was associated with very low income, poor health, lower financial satisfaction, absence of children, and having conservative sexual attitudes (OR 1.46-3.60). For both genders, Black race was associated with a much lower likelihood of sexlessness among currently non-married adults. The purported detrimental impact of sexlessness on self-reported happiness levels was not evident in this large, nationally representative study after adjusting for sociodemographic factors. Sexless Americans reported very similar happiness levels as their sexually active counterparts.

Asexual Identity in a New Zealand National Sample: Demographics, Well-Being, and Health

Academic interest in asexuality has increased in recent years; however, there is yet to be a national probability study exploring the correlates of self-identifying as asexual. Here, we utilized data from the 2014/15 New Zealand Attitudes and Values Study. Past research has typically used attraction-based measures; however, we asked participants to describe their sexual orientation using a self-generated, open-ended item, and 0.4% (n = 44) self-identified as asexual. We then compared self-identified asexual participants with a heterosexual reference group (n = 11,822) across a large number of demographic, psychological, and health variables. Relative to heterosexuals, self-identified asexual participants were (1) more likely to be women, and (2) substantially less likely to be cisgender, (3) in a serious romantic relationship, or (4) a parent. No deleterious mental or physical health effects were associated with asexuality when compared to heterosexuality. This study provides the first attempt at measuring self-identification as asexual in a national sample and highlights core similarities and differences between those who identify as asexual and heterosexual.