Table 1.
Measures of sexual health, sociodemographic, health and lifestyle factors
| Measure | Detailed information | Subgroups (if applicable) | Men (%) | Women (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| STI/Unplanned pregnancy | ||||
| Unplanned pregnancy | Based on the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy [36], a score of six items asking women reporting a pregnancy in the past year about contraceptive use, timing of motherhood, intention to become pregnant, desire for a baby, discussion with a partner, and preconceptual preparations. Scores range from 0 to 12, with unplanned pregnancy defined as a score of 3 or less. | – | 1.2 | |
| Abortion | Based on questions asked of women about experience of abortion, and age at last abortion. Responses restricted to those reporting an abortion in the last 5 years. | – | 3.1 | |
| STI diagnosis | “Have you ever been told by a doctor or other healthcare professional that you had any of the following?” Sexually transmitted infections asked about included chlamydia, gonorrhoea, genital warts (venereal warts), syphilis, Trichomonas vaginalis (Trich, TV), Herpes (genital herpes), NSU (Non Specific Urethritis), NGU (Non Gonococcal Urethritis). Responses were restricted to diagnoses made in the last 5 years. | 4.2 | 4.0 | |
| Perceived STI risk | “There are different opinions about how many people are at risk of becoming infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, but we would like to know what you think about the risks to you, personally with your present sexual lifestyle?” Responses 1 “greatly at risk” and 2 “quite a lot” were combined and contrasted with 3 “not very much” and 4 “not at all at risk”. | 4.1 | 2.7 | |
| Perceived HIV risk | “People are also at risk of getting other sexually transmitted infections. What do you think about the risks to you, personally, with your present lifestyle of getting a sexually transmitted infection?” Responses 1 “greatly at risk” and 2 “quite a lot” were combined and contrasted with 3 “not very much” and 4 “not at all at risk”. | 3.5 | 2.6 | |
| Condomless sex (2+ partners) | At least one episode of non-use of condoms, occurring with two or more partners in the past year | 6.7 | 5.1 | |
| Condomless sex (first sex with new partner) | Non-use of condoms at first sex with most recent new partner in the past year | 15.2 | 13.4 | |
| Sexual coercion | ||||
| Non-volitional sex | “Since the age of 13, has anyone actually made you have sex with them, against your will?” (yes/no) | 1.4 | 10.3 | |
| First sexual partner more willing | “Would you say that you were both equally willing to have intercourse that first time, or was one of you more willing than the other?” Response 3 “(He/She) was more willing” was contrasted with responses 1 “Both equally willing” and 2 “I was more willing”. Item applied to first sex with an opposite-sex partner, after the age of 13. | 4.4 | 16.2 | |
| Sexual Function | ||||
| Lacked interest in sex | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 15.0 | 34.1 | |
| Lacked enjoyment in sex | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 4.8 | 12.1 | |
| Anxious during sex | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 5.4 | 5.2 | |
| Physical pain from sex | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 1.8 | 7.4 | |
| Lack of arousal | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 3.1 | 8.2 | |
| Trouble experiencing orgasm | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 9.2 | 16.3 | |
| Premature orgasm | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 14.9 | 2.3 | |
| Erectile difficulties/dry vagina | Problem experienced for at least 3 months during the past year (yes/no) | 12.1 | 12.2 | |
| Avoided sex | Agreement with “I have avoided sex because of sexual difficulties, either my own or those of my partner”. Response options 1 “agree strongly” and 2 “agree” were combined and contrasted with 3 “neither agree nor disagree”, 4 “disagree”, 5 “disagree strongly”. | 11.0 | 13.5 | |
| Satisfaction/Distress with sex life | Average agreement with statements “I feel satisfied with my sex life”, and “I feel distressed or worried about my sex life”. Responses used a 5-point scale from 1 “agree strongly” to 5 “disagree strongly”. The second item was reverse-scored, so that a high average score denoted less satisfaction/more distress. The top decile (approximately, due to the presence of tied scores) was defined as “low satisfaction/high distress with sex life “and contrasted with the remainder. | 11.6 | 11.2 | |
| Socio-demographic, health and lifestyle information | ||||
| Age (years) | Age at interview | 16–24 | 15.2 | 15.6 |
| 25–44 | 41.3 | 43.2 | ||
| 45–54 | 19.9 | 20.6 | ||
| 55–74 | 23.7 | 20.6 | ||
| Ethnicity | White British, White Irish, Any other White background | white | 87.9 | 88.3 |
| Mixed, Asian, Asian British, Black, British Black, Chinese, Other | minority | 12.1 | 11.7 | |
| Low socio-economic status | Markers obtained at the time of interview comprised lowest household income quintile, no educational qualifications, unemployed; highest area deprivation quintile according to the Index of Multiple Deprivation (Payne & Abel, 2012) | zero markers | 48.6 | 42.9 |
| 1 or 2 markers | 39.6 | 42.8 | ||
| 3 to 5 markers | 11.8 | 14.3 | ||
| Alcohol/drug use | Defined as either (1) frequent binge drinking (at least once a week) based on current drinking practices; and/or (2) recent non-prescribed drug use (in the past 4 weeks). An episode of binge drinking was defined as consumption of more than six (for women) or eight (for men) units of alcohol on any one occasion. Drugs asked about included cannabis, amphetamines, cocaine, crack cocaine, ecstasy, heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), crystal methamphetamine and amyl nitrates. | 23.5 | 17.8 | |
| Depression | Based on the patient health questionnaire (PHQ-2) [37], comprising two screening questions (‘During the past 2 weeks have you often been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless?’, and ‘During the past 2 weeks have you often been bothered by little interest or pleasure in doing things?’) to assess depressive symptoms in the past 2 weeks (each scored 0–3). Respondents were deemed to have depressive symptoms if they had a total score of three or more, a cut-off that has been previously validated. | 8.6 | 10.7 | |
| Partnership status | Status at interview |
Married/ cohabiting |
72.1 | 73.2 |
| Regular partner | 12.4 | 13.3 | ||
| No regular partner | 15.5 | 13.5 | ||
| Sexual identity | Responses to “Which of the options on this card best describes how you think of yourself?” with options: (1) Heterosexual/straight, (2) Gay/Lesbian, (3) Bisexual, (4) Other. |
Heterosexual/ straight |
97.2 | 97.1 |
|
Gay/lesbian/ bisexual/other |
2.8 | 2.9 | ||
| Age < 16 years at first sex | “How old were you when you first had sexual intercourse with someone of the opposite sex?” Responses include estimates for those unsure of the exact age. Those under 16 years (“early sexual debut”) were contrasted with the remainder. | 28.1 | 20.2 | |
Percentages allow for the complex survey design