Table 1.
Background characteristics of the General Social Survey Sample (1988–2002)
| Total sample (n = 17,744) (%) | Sex in past year (n = 13,928) (%) | Past-year sexless (n = 3816) (%) | Past 5-year sex (n = 11,711) (%) | Past 5-year sexless (n = 1851) (%) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gendera,b | |||||
| Male | 43.6 | 47.0 | 30.9 | 46.3 | 28.0 |
| Female | 56.4 | 53.0 | 69.1 | 53.7 | 72.0 |
| Age at time of surveya,b | |||||
| < 25 | 9.9 | 10.8 | 6.4 | 9.8 | 7.6 |
| 25–34 year | 22.6 | 26.6 | 7.8 | 25.4 | 5.6 |
| 35–44 year | 23.4 | 26.9 | 10.5 | 26.4 | 7.3 |
| 45–54 year | 16.6 | 17.5 | 13.0 | 18.7 | 10.3 |
| 55–64 year | 11.0 | 10.0 | 14.6 | 10.4 | 13.6 |
| 65–74 year | 9.8 | 6.2 | 23.1 | 6.7 | 24.2 |
| 75 + year | 6.8 | 2.0 | 24.6 | 2.6 | 31.4 |
| Racea,b | |||||
| White | 82.4 | 81.9 | 84.3 | 81.6 | 84.6 |
| Black | 12.6 | 12.8 | 11.8 | 13.0 | 11.3 |
| Other race | 5.1 | 5.4 | 3.9 | 5.5 | 4.1 |
| Years of educationa,b | |||||
| 11 years or less | 18.1 | 15.3 | 28.2 | 14.3 | 29.0 |
| High school graduate | 30.5 | 30.4 | 30.8 | 30.0 | 30.9 |
| 13–16 yrs (some college) | 40.4 | 42.6 | 32.3 | 43.6 | 30.9 |
| 17 + years (post-college) | 11.1 | 11.7 | 8.8 | 12.1 | 9.2 |
| Household incomea,b,c | |||||
| < $20,000/year | 26.2 | 21.0 | 46.5 | 21.7 | 49.5 |
| 20,000–44,999/year | 33.1 | 33.1 | 33.2 | 34.0 | 31.9 |
| 45,000–69,999/year | 21.3 | 23.6 | 12.7 | 22.6 | 12.0 |
| 70,000/year | 19.3 | 22.4 | 7.6 | 21.7 | 6.6 |
| Marital statusa,b | |||||
| Married | 50.2 | 59.6 | 15.6 | 54.9 | 13.5 |
| Never married | 22.2 | 21.5 | 25.1 | 22.4 | 26.4 |
| Divorced/separated | 18.2 | 16.6 | 24.0 | 18.6 | 20.2 |
| Widowed | 9.4 | 2.3 | 35.4 | 4.0 | 39.8 |
| Attend religious services?a,b | |||||
| Never | 18.8 | 18.7 | 19.4 | 19.5 | 18.8 |
| Less than weekly | 46.1 | 49.4 | 34.5 | 28.7 | 32.5 |
| At least weekly | 35.0 | 32.0 | 46.0 | 31.8 | 48.8 |
| Self-reported health statusa,b | |||||
| Excellent/good health | 78.5 | 82.2 | 65.1 | 81.2 | 64.2 |
| Fair/poor health | 21.5 | 17.8 | 34.9 | 18.8 | 35.2 |
| Agree with the followingd | |||||
| Premarital sex is wronga,b | 35.1 | 30.0 | 54.0 | 30.4 | 61.6 |
| Extramarital sex is wronga,b | 91.9 | 91.5 | 93.3 | 91.6 | 93.9 |
| Teen sex is wronga,b | 86.7 | 85.2 | 92.1 | 85.7 | 92.7 |
| Homosexual sex is wronga,b | 69.3 | 66.8 | 78.4 | 70.3 | 84.2 |
| GSS Study Cohorte,f | |||||
| 1988–1994 | 48.3 | 48.1 | 48.9 | 34.1 | 34.5 |
| 1996–2002 | 51.7 | 51.9 | 51.1 | 65.9 | 65.5 |
a
p<.05 for past-year sexless
b
p<.05 for past 5-year sexless
c
Inflation adjusted to year 2000
d
Responded that that the action was “Always” or “Almost Always” wrong
e
Not significant at p<.05 for past-year sexless
f
Not significant at p<.05 for past 5-year sexless