Table 1.
Characteristics of sexually experienced and sexually active men and women aged 18–44 years in the 4 months following the start of a national lockdown in Britain (March 23, 2020)
|
Men |
Women |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sexually experienced, % (95% CI) | Sexually active, % (95% CI) | Sexually experienced, % (95% CI) | Sexually active, % (95% CI) | |
| Denominators | ||||
| Unweighted | 1366 | 1221 | 1728 | 1560 |
| Weighted* | 1457 | 1301 | 1449 | 1302 |
| Used at least one SRH service | ||||
| No | 84·7% (82·5–86·6) | 83·6% (81·3–85·8) | 73·9% (71·6–76·0) | 72·6% (70·1–74·) |
| Yes | 15·3% (13·4–17·5) | 16·4% (14·2–18·7) | 26·1% (24·0–28·4) | 27·4% (25·1–29·9) |
| Tried, but unable to use at least one SRH service | ||||
| No | 90·5% (88·7–92·1) | 89·9% (87·9–91·6) | 90·1% (88·4–91·5) | 90·0% (88·3–91·5) |
| Yes | 9·5% (7·9–11·3) | 10·1% (8·4–12·1) | 9·9% (8·5–11·6) | 10·0% (8·5–11·7) |
| Age, years | ||||
| 18–24 | 16·0% (14·0–18·3) | 15·8% (13·7–18·2) | 16·7% (15·1–18·5) | 17·5% (15·8–19·5) |
| 25–29 | 24·8% (22·4–27·3) | 25·1% (22·6–27·8) | 25·0% (23·0–27·0) | 26·1% (24·0–28·3) |
| 30–34 | 18·2% (16·1–20·5) | 18·7% (16·4–21·1) | 20·0% (18·0–22·3) | 21·2% (19·0–23·7) |
| 35–44 | 41·0% (38·2–43·8) | 40·4% (37·4–43·3) | 38·3% (35·7–40·9) | 35·1% (32·5–37·8) |
| Location | ||||
| Urban | 89·9% (88·0–91·6) | 89·5% (87·5–91·3) | 84·9% (82·8–86·7) | 85·2% (83·0–87·1) |
| Rural | 10·1% (8·4–12·0) | 10·5% (8·7–12·5) | 15·1% (13·3–17·2) | 14·8% (12·9–17·0) |
| Ethnicity | ||||
| White† | 83·5% (80·9–85·8) | 84·0% (81·3–86·4) | 83·5% (83·2–87·5) | 85·8% (83·4–87·9) |
| Mixed, multiple, or other‡ | 3·8% (2·6–5·5) | 3·8% (2·5–5·6) | 3·4% (2·6–4·6) | 3·4% (2·5–4·6) |
| Asian or Asian British§ | 9·5% (7·8–11·4) | 9·3% (7·6–11·4) | 7·9% (6·4–9·8) | 7·7% (6·1–9·6) |
| Black or Black British¶ | 3·2% (2·2–4·8) | 3·0% (1·9–4·6) | 3·1% (2·2–4·5) | 3·1% (2·1–4·6) |
| Relationship status | ||||
| Did not have partnered sex since lockdown | 21·9% (19·6–24·3) | 14·0% (12·0–16·3) | 20·0% (18·0–22·1) | 12·0% (10·4–13·8) |
| Partnered sex, not in a steady relationship | 14·1% (12·2–16·2) | 14·7% (12·7–17·0) | 10·1% (8·7–11·8) | 11·0% (9·4–12·7) |
| Partnered sex, in a steady non-cohabiting relationship | 7·0% (5·7–8·6) | 7·7% (6·2–9·4) | 9·4% (8·0–10·9) | 10·4% (8·9–12·1) |
| Partnered sex, in a steady cohabiting relationship | 57·0% (54·2–59·8) | 63·6% (60·6–66·4) | 60·5% (58·0–63·0) | 66·6% (64·1–69·1) |
| Employment status | ||||
| Employed | 86·5% (84·4–88·4) | 88·8% (86·7–90·7) | 77·6% (75·4–79·6) | 77·6% (75·3–79·8) |
| Unemployed | 9·0% (7·4–10·8) | 6·7% (5·3–8·4) | 8·3% (7·0–9·8) | 7·4% (6·1–8·9) |
| Full time parent, home maker | 0·9% (0·5–1·6) | 0·9% (0·5–1·6) | 8·2% (6·9–9·8) | 8·8% (7·4–10·6) |
| Student or pupil | 3·6% (2·7–4·9) | 3·6% (2·6–5·0) | 5·9% (5·0–7·1) | 6·1% (5·1–7·4) |
| Self-reported sexual identity | ||||
| Heterosexual | 95·5% (94·7–96·1) | 95·5% (94·7–96·2) | 95·7% (95·0–96·3) | 95·9% (95·3–96·5) |
| Gay or lesbian | 3·0% (2·5–3·6) | 2·9% (2·4–3·6) | 1·1% (0·8–1·5) | 1·1% (0·8–1·6) |
| Bisexual | 1·3% (1·0–1·6) | 1·3% (1·0–1·7) | 2·6% (2·2–3·1) | 2·5% (2·1–2·9) |
| Other | 0·3% (0·1–0·7) | 0·3% (0·1–0·6) | 0·6% (0·4–1·0) | 0·4% (0·2–0·8) |
| Social grade | ||||
| AB (higher and intermediate managerial, administrative, or professional occupations) | 27·2% (24·9–29·8) | 28·6% (26·0–31·3) | 24·0% (21·9–26·2) | 24·9% (2·7–27·3) |
| C1 (supervisory, clerical, and junior managerial, administrative, or professional occupations) or C2 (skilled manual occupations) | 56·4% (53·6–59·2) | 56·9% (53·9–59·9) | 54·1% (51·5–56·6) | 53·9% (51·2–56·6) |
| D (semi-skilled and unskilled manual occupations) or E (on state benefit, unemployed, and lowest grade occupations) | 16·4% (14·3–18·7) | 14·5% (12·4–16·9) | 21·9% (19·9–24·1) | 21·2% (19·1–23·4) |
| Education | ||||
| Degree | 54·7% (51·9–57·5) | 55·2% (52·2–58·2) | 56·6% (54·1–59·1) | 56·3% (53·6–58·9) |
| Below degree | 42·1% (39·3–44·9) | 41·8% (38·9–44·8) | 40·9% (38·4–43·5) | 41·1% (38·5–43·8) |
| No qualifications | 3·2% (2·3–4·3) | 3·0% (2·1–4·2) | 2·5% (1·8–3·4) | 2·6% (1·9–3·7) |
| Alcohol consumption since lockdown | ||||
| No change | 50·6% (47·7–53·4) | 50·9% (47·9–53·9) | 59·7% (57·2–62·2) | 59·2% (56·6–618) |
| Increased | 28·6% (26·1–31·2) | 28·9% (26·2–31·7) | 22·0% (20·0–24·2) | 22·8% (20·7–25·1) |
| Decreased | 20·9% (18·6–23·3) | 20·2% (17·9–22·7) | 18·3% (16·4–20·4) | 18·0% (16·0–20·1) |
| Symptoms of depression (PHQ-2)‖ | ||||
| No | 66·7% (63·9–69·3) | 68·2% (65·4–71·0) | 70·7% (68·3–73·0) | 71·1% (68·6–73·5) |
| Yes | 33·3% (30·7–36·1) | 31·8% (29·0–34·6) | 29·3% (27·0–31·7) | 28·9% (26·5–31·4) |
| Symptoms of anxiety (GAD-2)‖ | ||||
| No | 69·2% (66·5–71·8) | 69·7% (66·9–72·4) | 67·8% (65·4–70·1) | 67·4% (64·9–69·9) |
| Yes | 30·8% (28·2–33·5) | 30·3% (27·6–33·1) | 32·2% (29·9–34·6) | 32·6% (30·1–35·1) |
| New sexual partners since lockdown** | ||||
| None | 92·0% (90·1–93·6) | 90·9% (88·7–92·7) | 97·6% (96·7–98·3) | 97·3% (96·2–98·0) |
| At least one | 8·0% (6·4–9·9) | 9·1% (7·3–11·3) | 2·4% (1·7–3·3) | 2·7% (2·0–3·8) |
| Condom-less sex with a new partner since lockdown** | ||||
| No | 93·8% (92·0–95·2) | 92·9% (90·8–84·5) | 98·2% (97·4–98·8) | 98·0% (97·1–98·6) |
| Yes | 6·2% (4·8–8·0) | 7·1% (5·5–9·2) | 1·8% (1·2–2·6) | 2·0% (1·4–2·9) |
| Previous same-sex experience in their lifetime†† | ||||
| No | 91·1% (89·6–92·4) | 91·7% (90·2–93·0) | 92·2% (90·9–93·3) | 92·5% (91·2–93·7) |
| Yes | 8·9% (7·6–10·4) | 8·3% (7·0–9·8) | 7·8% (6·7–9·1) | 7·4% (6·3–8·8) |
SRH= sexual and reproductive health. PHQ-2=Patient health questionnaire two-item scale. GAD-2=Generalized anxiety disorder two-item scale.
Participants aged 18–44 years; 14 participants who identified in another way were included in data presented for all participants, but excluded from the men and women categories; transgender men and transgender women were included in the men and women categories, respectively.
Includes all individuals who identified as White English, Welsh, Scottish, Northern Irish, British, Irish, Gypsy or Irish Traveller, or from any other White background.
Includes all individuals who identified as White and Black African, White and Black Caribbean, White and Asian or any other mixed or multiple ethnic background.
Includes all individuals who identified as Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Chinese, or from any other Asian background.
Includes individuals who identified as African, Caribbean, or from any other Black background.
Participants were classified as having symptoms of depression or anxiety if they scored ≥3 on the PHQ-2 or GAD-2 scales.
Includes both partners of the opposite sex and same-sex partners.
Same-sex experience defined as oral, anal, or vaginal sex.