The ACASI section on sexual behavior (SXQYTH) provides information on lifetime and current sexual behavior for both males and females. Major items in this section include age at first sexual intercourse, number of sexual partners, sexual orientation, circumcision status (men) and history of sexually transmitted diseases.
Survey participants, aged 14-69 years old, were eligible. Mentally impaired individuals or participants who were unable to understand English or Spanish were not asked these questions.
Several questions in this section are age and gender specific.. Only data from participants aged 14-19 years old are included in this file. The data files for participants 20-69 years old are publicly available through the NHANES website.
The sexual behavior questionnaire was administered, to survey participants 14-69 years old, during the physical examination at the examination center, in a private room, using the Audio Computer Assisted Self Interview (ACASI) system. The ACASI was conducted in either English or Spanish. The ACASI enables respondents to hear questions through earphones as well as read questions on the computer screen. Respondents move at their own speed and touch the screen to indicate their responses. No proxy respondents or translators were used in situations where the respondents could not self-report.
For details on the QA/QC process for this component, please refer to the MEC Interview Manual on the NHANES website.
Responses to SXD031 (age at first sexual intercourse) that were 9 years or less were grouped and coded as “9 years or younger.”
Responses to SXD171 (# of female partners) that were 2000 or more partners were grouped and coded as “2000 or more” partners.
Questions were slightly modified in the second year of collection. Questions originally specified three types of sex; vaginal, anal and oral. This proved to be confusing for respondents, particularly males who may have thought they had to have had all three types of sex in order to answer yes. These qualifiers were removed so that questions asked about “sex” but did not specify which types.
Analysts should keep in mind that the NHANES policy is that if a person wasn't asked a question it should be missing. If is up to the analyst to recode to zero if that is what they want to do. For example, if a respondent reported that they had zero lifetime sex partners, they wouldn't be asked the number of sex partners in the past 12 months. Since the respondent does not receive the question about partners in the past 12 months, the data will be coded as missing for this variable. Analysts may want to recode this to “0”.
For 18 and 19 year olds:
Users are cautioned about the use of SXQ292 and SXQ294 in analyses, especially in analyses that classify respondents by their responses to these questions to describe or compare subgroup characteristics. The sample size for the non-heterosexual subgroups is limited and do not meet the minimum sample size requirements for statistical reliability as noted in the NHANES analytic guidelines1. Even after combining multiple years of data, which is often recommended to estimate rarer conditions within a subgroup, the non-heterosexual subgroups do not meet the minimum sample size. Additionally, there is a high rate of not selecting a specific answer to the questions. That is, selecting ‘don’t know’, ‘refused’, ‘not sure’ or ‘something else’ as a response. This issue has been examined at length at the NCHS Questionnaire Design Research Laboratory (QDRL) recently. Individuals select these answers for a variety of reasons that are well summarized in the report Design, Development and Testing of the NHIS Sexual Identity Question2, specifically in Table 2. For example, respondents from the LGBT community select “something else’ when they use a different sexual identity label than those presented in the response options. However, those who aren’t part of the LGBT community select this answer because they are not familiar with what the response options mean.
Exam sample weights should be used for analyses. Please refer to the Analytic Guidelines for further details on the use of sample weights and other analytic issues on the NHANES website. The Analytic Guidelines are available on the NHANES website.
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Complete | 842 | 842 | |
2 | Partial | 1 | 843 | |
3 | Not done | 76 | 919 | End of Section |
. | Missing | 0 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yes | 408 | 408 | |
2 | No | 432 | 840 | SXQ280 |
7 | Refused | 2 | 842 | SXQ280 |
9 | Don't know | 1 | 843 | SXQ280 |
. | Missing | 76 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 to 19 | Range of Values | 399 | 399 | |
9 | 9 years or younger | 7 | 406 | |
77 | Refused | 2 | 408 | |
99 | Don't know | 0 | 408 | |
. | Missing | 511 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 100 | Range of Values | 192 | 192 | |
77777 | Refused | 3 | 195 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 195 | |
. | Missing | 724 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 30 | Range of Values | 191 | 191 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 191 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 191 | |
. | Missing | 728 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 6 | Range of Values | 195 | 195 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 195 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 195 | |
. | Missing | 724 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 60 | Range of Values | 213 | 213 | |
2000 | 2000 or more | 0 | 213 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 213 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 213 | |
. | Missing | 706 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 18 | Range of Values | 208 | 208 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 208 | |
99999 | Don't know | 2 | 210 | |
. | Missing | 709 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 45 | Range of Values | 213 | 213 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 213 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 213 | |
. | Missing | 706 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 4 | Range of Values | 8 | 8 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 9 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 9 | |
. | Missing | 910 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 10 | Range of Values | 190 | 190 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 191 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 191 | |
. | Missing | 728 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 3 | Range of Values | 167 | 167 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 167 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 167 | |
. | Missing | 752 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 6 | Range of Values | 8 | 8 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 8 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 8 | |
. | Missing | 911 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 25 | Range of Values | 209 | 209 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 210 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 210 | |
. | Missing | 709 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 10 | Range of Values | 181 | 181 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 182 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 182 | |
. | Missing | 737 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 15 | Range of Values | 48 | 48 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 49 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 49 | |
. | Missing | 870 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 2 | Range of Values | 4 | 4 | |
77777 | Refused | 0 | 4 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 4 | |
. | Missing | 915 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 16 | Range of Values | 357 | 357 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 358 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 358 | |
. | Missing | 561 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 to 5 | Range of Values | 357 | 357 | |
77777 | Refused | 1 | 358 | |
99999 | Don't know | 0 | 358 | |
. | Missing | 561 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
0 | Never | 37 | 37 | |
1 | Once | 34 | 71 | |
2 | 2-11 times | 130 | 201 | |
3 | 12-51 times | 86 | 287 | |
4 | 52-103 times | 38 | 325 | |
5 | 104-364 times | 29 | 354 | |
6 | 365 times or more | 2 | 356 | |
77 | Refused | 0 | 356 | |
99 | Don't know | 2 | 358 | |
. | Missing | 561 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Never | 120 | 120 | |
2 | Less than half of the time | 96 | 216 | |
3 | About half of the time | 27 | 243 | |
4 | Not always, but more than half of the time | 38 | 281 | |
5 | Always | 38 | 319 | |
77 | Refused | 0 | 319 | |
99 | Don't know | 0 | 319 | |
. | Missing | 600 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yes | 4 | 4 | |
2 | No | 401 | 405 | |
7 | Refused | 0 | 405 | |
9 | Don't know | 2 | 407 | |
. | Missing | 512 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yes | 3 | 3 | |
2 | No | 403 | 406 | |
7 | Refused | 0 | 406 | |
9 | Don't know | 1 | 407 | |
. | Missing | 512 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yes | 4 | 4 | |
2 | No | 403 | 407 | |
7 | Refused | 0 | 407 | |
9 | Don't know | 0 | 407 | |
. | Missing | 512 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Yes | 12 | 12 | |
2 | No | 395 | 407 | |
7 | Refused | 0 | 407 | |
9 | Don't know | 0 | 407 | |
. | Missing | 512 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Circumcised | 306 | 306 | |
2 | Uncircumcised | 138 | 444 | |
7 | Refused | 7 | 451 | |
9 | Don't know | 2 | 453 | |
. | Missing | 466 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Heterosexual or straight (attracted to women) | 140 | 140 | |
2 | Homosexual or gay (attracted to men) | 3 | 143 | |
3 | Bisexual (attracted to men and women) | 0 | 143 | |
4 | Something else | 1 | 144 | |
5 | Not sure | 1 | 145 | |
7 | Refused | 0 | 145 | |
9 | Don't know | 0 | 145 | |
. | Missing | 774 | 919 |
Code or Value | Value Description | Count | Cumulative | Skip to Item |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Heterosexual or straight (attracted to men) | 103 | 103 | |
2 | Homosexual or lesbian (attracted to women) | 2 | 105 | |
3 | Bisexual (attracted to men and women) | 3 | 108 | |
4 | Something else | 0 | 108 | |
5 | Not sure | 3 | 111 | |
7 | Refused | 0 | 111 | |
9 | Don't know | 0 | 111 | |
. | Missing | 808 | 919 |