In 2010 one of the largest nationally representative investigations of sexual health and behaviors to date was released by Indiana University’s Center for Sexual Health Promotion. This study, titled the National Survey of Sexual Health and Behavior (NSSHB), was conducted by Michael Reece, Debby Herbenick, J. Dennis Fortenberry, Brian Dodge, Stephanie Sanders, and Vanessa Schick (2010a). These investigators reported on data reflecting the sexual experiences of 5,865 adolescents and adults ages 14 to 94. The researchers used a probability sampling of a frame of residential addresses in the U. S. Postal Service’s file that includes approximately 98% of all U. S. households (Reece et al., 2010a). Data were collected, via the Internet, from participants randomly selected from this probability sample. The survey included more than 40 combinations of sexual acts engaged in during sexual events, patterns of condom use, and the percentage of subjects who participated in same-sex encounters.
The NSSHB survey is the first broadly comprehensive study of sexual and sexual health-related behaviors in the almost two decades since publication of the NHSLS study. Many sexologists and related scientists believe that this important research will play a significant role in guiding future research and education in the field of sexology (Barclay, 2010).
The primary findings obtained via the NSSHB survey were presented in nine articles published in an October 1, 2010, special issue of the Journal of Sexual Medicine. Major findings from the NSSHB survey will be presented in various chapters of this textbook.