NHSLS+Study

Sara Espinosa

The NHSLS Study

**What is the NHSLS Study?**  The National Health and Social Life Survey (NHSLS) Study, also known as “The Sex Survey,” “stands alone as the most representative U.S. sex survey and as one that reliably reflects the practices of the general U.S. adult population in the 1990s” (Crooks & Baur, 2010, p.37). The study “collected information on sexual practices with spouses/cohabitants and other sexual partners and collected background information about the partners”aimed “ (Laumann et al, 1992).

**Controversy and Sponsorship**  Although health specialists generally agreed that it was important to collect information about the population’s sexual behaviors, especially in the 1980s with the emergence of the HIV epidemic, “the government was reluctant to support research that asked people about their private sexual behavior. Although the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) had originally requested a national survey of sexual behavior, the idea was killed when it became known by other parts of the government” (Michael, 1997). “The study faced judgmental opposition by conservative legislators who feared it would provide a mandate of excessive sexual expression” (Crooks, Baur, 2010, p. 38) The study was begun under contract in 1988 to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' NICHD, but since the government opposed the study, funding was not provided for it. Therefore, the study was then sponsored by outside foundations that supported the project such as the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Rockefeller Foundation, and the American Foundation for AIDS Research, among others. (NORC, n.d.)  Despite governmental opposition and controversy that surrounded the issue of questioning people on their private sexual behaviors, participants of the study responded quite well.

**Investigators**

 The NHSLS research team (pictured above) was comprised of four, mainly important investigators. The principal investigator of the NHSLS study was Edward O. Laumann, NORC Research Associate. There were, however, several co-principal investigators that contributed greatly to the development and success of this study. They were: John Gagnon, Professor of Sociology and Psychology at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, Robert Michael, NORC Research Association, and James Coleman, NORC Research Associate, (not pictured).

**Purpose of the Study** “The purpose of the study was to collect and analyze data on the social organization of sexual behavior, particularly the social structuring of sexual action, and the ways in which that structuring influences behaviors that increase the incidence and prevalence of a variety of health-related problems” (Laumann et al, 1992).

**Methodology and Demographics** The NHSLS study is a face-to-face based survey in which 3,432 American, adults participated. Of the participants, “approximately 75% were white Americans, 12% were African Americans, 8% were Hispanic Americans, and the balance was drawn from other ethnic and racial groups, notably Asian Americans and Native Americans” (Laumann, 1994). Part of the methodology for the study involved the sample selection. Two samples were obtained based on a multistage area probability sample that was designed to give each household an equal probability of inclusion. (Laumann, 1992) Of the two samples, one was a cross-sectional sample which is for a total of (3,159 cases), and the other was an oversample (273 cases) intended to increase the number of Blacks and Hispanics in the study. The “overall response rate for the study resulted in 78.6 percent of the 4,369 eligible respondents selected for inclusion in the study” (Laumann, 1992). This means that approximately 4 out of 5 of the respondents that were interviewed responded to the questions regarding their sexual behaviors.

**Findings** The NHSLS study revealed six major public health findings. “The first three pertain to traditional issues about the spread of infectious diseases: how widespread they are, what their primary risk factors are and why these factors represent such high risks. The other three are facts about how people behave, since their behavior has implications for our understanding of the spread of these diseases” (Michael, 1997, p.6) The six main finding are discussed below.

1. “<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Most sexually transmitted infections are contracted by young adults (under age thirty), and these infections flourish in that relatively small segment of the population” (Michael, 1997, p.6). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 26px;"> The study asked respondents about nine different sexually transmitted infections, four viral and five bacterial. Among respondents, 16.9% reported that they had at some point been diagnosed with at least one sexually transmitted infection. Because the study does not specifically focus on what infections each participants have, it is difficult to know if there were participants that had more than one, or even all of the infections. However, the general results indicated that younger adults were the ones most affected by sexually transmitted diseases and since most of sexual interactions generally occur with people in our same age range, this segment of the population was the one most affected at the time of the study.

2. “<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">The number of sex partners is the single most important risk factor for getting a sexually transmitted infection” (Michael, 1997, p.7). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 26px;"> The survey revealed that there is a direct correlation between the number of sexual life partners and the likelihood of contracting a sexually transmitted infection. “Overwhelmingly the most important single factor, for both bacterial and viral STIs, is the number of sexual partners. […] Those with more than 10 lifetime sexual partners are estimated to be 20 times as likely to have contracted an STI as those with one lifetime partner” (Michael, 1997, p.8).

3. “<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">The reason that someone with many partners has a high risk of an STI is that those other partners also have many partners, often concurrently” (Michael, 1997, p.8). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 26px;"> This third finding revealed that people with many partners are at a higher risk for contracting an STI is that these relationships generally do not have a strong personal connection or concern. People who have one partner tend to show concern for their partner and this creates greater familiarity, which may result in comfort in discussing previous sexual relations and/or histories thus reducing risks of contracting STIs.

4. “<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">People at high risk of getting sexually transmitted disease are changing their sexual behavior” (Michael, 1997, p.9). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 26px;"> This point of the study revealed that while condom use highly depends on an individual’s situation, those who are higher risk for contracting a disease, are being more careful and using condoms to avoid these diseases. This is said to be one of the more optimistic findings in the study. (Michael,1997)

5. “<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Most people have sex with others who are similar to themselves in terms of age, education, race and most other social attributes” (Michael, 1997, p.10). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 26px;"> This point can relate back to point one, in which it was mentioned that young adults are the ones most affected by STIs. This can be because, as this fifth finding states, individuals tend to have sex with others who are similar to them.

6. “<span style="font-family: Times New Roman,serif;">Under the proper circumstances, adults in the United States will cooperate in a scientific survey about their sexual behavior” (Michael, 1997, p.11). <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 26px;"> Contrary to popular beliefs that surrounded this study and the opposition from legislators, the sixth and final main finding of the study revealed that the American population is open to discuss their sexual behaviors, at least for scientific purposes.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; line-height: 200%; margin-bottom: 0in; margin-left: 0.25in; text-indent: 0.25in;">Overall, the NHSLS study has proved to be a in important contribution in the area of sexuality and social behavior. Respondents were willing to discuss their sexual behaviors and this contributed to the success of the study. It is important to keep in mind the time frame in which this study took place, and considering the historical context surrounding this era, it is very important to note the success of this study and its findings because that is the reason that the NHSLS study stands alone as the most representative U.S. sex survey and as one that reliably reflects the practices of the general U.S. adult population in the 1990s.

References 1. Crooks, R, & Baur, K. (2010). //Our Sexuality, 10////th// //edition//. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth. 2. Laumann, Edward et al. (1992) //National Health and Social Life Survey, 1992: Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://www.icpsr.umich.edu/icpsrweb/HMCA/studies/6647?q=nhsls+study // 3. Laumann, Edward et al. (1994) //The Social organization of sexuality in the United// States. //Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1994. ISBN 0226469573// 4. Michael, Robert. (1997) //To Improve Health and Health Care, Volume 1.// 5. Michael, Robert. (1997) //The National Health and Social Life Survey Public Health// Findings and Their Implications//, 1-15.// 6. NORC. (n.d.). The National Health and Social Life Survey ("The Sex Survey"). //National Opinion Research Center (NORC) at the University of Chicago//. Retrieved April 1, 2011, from http://cloud9.norc.uchicago.edu/faqs/sex.htm