Misclassification bias: diversity in conceptualisations about having 'had sex'
Misclassification bias: diversity in conceptualisations about having 'had sex'
Background: Understanding the signification of the word ‘sex’ has implications for both medical research and clinical practice. Little is known about how people of varying ages define sex and how situational qualifiers influence definitions across age groups. To our knowledge, this is the first study of a representative sample to assess attitudes about which sexual behaviours constitute having ‘had sex’ and to examine possible mediating factors (gender, age, giving/receiving stimulation, male ejaculation, female orgasm, condom use or brevity). Methods: A telephone survey of English-speaking residents of Indiana (USA) using random-digit-dialling produced a final sample of 204 men and 282 women (n = 486) ranging in age from 18 to 96 years. Questions assessed the respondents’ attitudes on manual-genital (MG), oral-genital (OG), penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI) and penile-anal intercourse (PAI) behaviours. Results: There was no universal consensus on which behaviours constituted having ‘had sex’. More than 90% responded ‘yes’ to PVI but one in five responded ‘no’ to PAI, three in 10 responded ‘no’ to OG and about half endorsed MG. Fewer endorsed PVI with no male ejaculation (89.1%) compared with PVI without a qualifier (94.8%, P < 0.001). MG was endorsed more often when received (48.1%) than given (44.9%, P < 0.001). Among men, the oldest and youngest age groups were significantly less likely to believe certain behaviours constituted having ‘had sex’. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to use behaviour-specific terminology in sexual history taking, sex research, sexual health promotion and sex education. Researchers, educators and medical practitioners should exercise caution and not assume that their own definitions of having ‘had sex’ are shared by their research participants or patients.
31-34
Sanders, Stephanie A.
bb4ce9a1-0d94-4fe9-9113-f2ac41ec7961
Hill, Brandon J.
1928c7e8-bf2f-456a-9040-2efc52c70d88
Yarber, William L.
2bf2b5cc-004a-4c27-9e88-039b532e22cf
Graham, Cynthia A.
ac400331-f231-4449-a69b-ec9a477224c8
Crosby, Richard A.
626c2897-4a0d-447c-8a82-b4068006646c
Milhausen, Robin R.
34cc6d84-7ab0-49a0-a3ac-054ed9b6129f
2010
Sanders, Stephanie A.
bb4ce9a1-0d94-4fe9-9113-f2ac41ec7961
Hill, Brandon J.
1928c7e8-bf2f-456a-9040-2efc52c70d88
Yarber, William L.
2bf2b5cc-004a-4c27-9e88-039b532e22cf
Graham, Cynthia A.
ac400331-f231-4449-a69b-ec9a477224c8
Crosby, Richard A.
626c2897-4a0d-447c-8a82-b4068006646c
Milhausen, Robin R.
34cc6d84-7ab0-49a0-a3ac-054ed9b6129f
Sanders, Stephanie A., Hill, Brandon J., Yarber, William L., Graham, Cynthia A., Crosby, Richard A. and Milhausen, Robin R.
(2010)
Misclassification bias: diversity in conceptualisations about having 'had sex'.
Sexual Health, 7 (1), .
(doi:10.1071/SH09068).
Abstract
Background: Understanding the signification of the word ‘sex’ has implications for both medical research and clinical practice. Little is known about how people of varying ages define sex and how situational qualifiers influence definitions across age groups. To our knowledge, this is the first study of a representative sample to assess attitudes about which sexual behaviours constitute having ‘had sex’ and to examine possible mediating factors (gender, age, giving/receiving stimulation, male ejaculation, female orgasm, condom use or brevity). Methods: A telephone survey of English-speaking residents of Indiana (USA) using random-digit-dialling produced a final sample of 204 men and 282 women (n = 486) ranging in age from 18 to 96 years. Questions assessed the respondents’ attitudes on manual-genital (MG), oral-genital (OG), penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI) and penile-anal intercourse (PAI) behaviours. Results: There was no universal consensus on which behaviours constituted having ‘had sex’. More than 90% responded ‘yes’ to PVI but one in five responded ‘no’ to PAI, three in 10 responded ‘no’ to OG and about half endorsed MG. Fewer endorsed PVI with no male ejaculation (89.1%) compared with PVI without a qualifier (94.8%, P < 0.001). MG was endorsed more often when received (48.1%) than given (44.9%, P < 0.001). Among men, the oldest and youngest age groups were significantly less likely to believe certain behaviours constituted having ‘had sex’. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to use behaviour-specific terminology in sexual history taking, sex research, sexual health promotion and sex education. Researchers, educators and medical practitioners should exercise caution and not assume that their own definitions of having ‘had sex’ are shared by their research participants or patients.
Text
Misclassification_Bias_Sanders_et_al_FINAL.doc
- Accepted Manuscript
Restricted to Registered users only
Request a copy
More information
Published date: 2010
Organisations:
Psychology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 206729
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/206729
ISSN: 1448-5028
PURE UUID: 6e0d07f8-b608-4574-8268-fa860f2177ae
Catalogue record
Date deposited: 10 Jan 2012 16:56
Last modified: 21 Mar 2024 02:47
Export record
Altmetrics
Contributors
Author:
Stephanie A. Sanders
Author:
Brandon J. Hill
Author:
William L. Yarber
Author:
Richard A. Crosby
Author:
Robin R. Milhausen
Download statistics
Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.
View more statistics
