Sanders Stephanie A, Hill Brandon J, Yarber William L, Graham Cynthia A, Crosby Richard A, Milhausen Robin R
The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Morrison Hall 313, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
Sex Health. 2010 Mar;7(1):31-4. doi: 10.1071/SH09068.
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).
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.
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'.
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.
理解“性行为”一词的含义对医学研究和临床实践均有影响。对于不同年龄段的人如何定义性行为以及情境限定词如何影响各年龄组的定义，我们知之甚少。据我们所知，这是第一项针对代表性样本进行的研究，旨在评估对于哪些性行为构成“发生过性行为”的态度，并研究可能的中介因素（性别、年龄、给予/接受刺激、男性射精、女性 orgasm、使用避孕套或行为简短）。
对美国印第安纳州讲英语的居民进行电话调查，采用随机数字拨号法，最终样本包括204名男性和282名女性（n = 486），年龄在18至96岁之间。问题评估了受访者对手动-生殖器（MG）、口-生殖器（OG）、阴茎-阴道性交（PVI）和阴茎-肛门性交（PAI）行为的态度。
对于哪些行为构成“发生过性行为”，没有达成普遍共识。超过90%的人对PVI回答“是”，但五分之一的人对PAI回答“否”，十分之三的人对OG回答“否”，约一半的人认可MG。与无限定条件的PVI（94.8%）相比，无男性射精的PVI得到认可的比例更低（89.1%，P < 0.001）。接受MG时得到认可的频率（48.1%）高于给予MG时（44.9%，P < 0.001）。在男性中，年龄最大和最小的年龄组明显不太可能认为某些行为构成“发生过性行为”。
这些发现凸显了在性史采集、性研究、性健康促进和性教育中使用特定行为术语的必要性。研究人员、教育工作者和医学从业者应谨慎行事，不要假定他们自己对“发生过性行为”的定义为研究参与者或患者所认同。
