A number of other studies have had an impact on how we think about sexuality today. The Janus Report and the National Health and Social Life Survey each tried to update Kinsey’s large-scale survey of sexual behavior. Let’s look at each in turn.
The Janus Report
In 1993 Drs. Samuel and Cynthia Janus published The Janus Report on Sexual Behavior (Janus & Janus, 1993). It was touted as the most comprehensive study of sex in America since Kinsey’s work in the 1950s. The Janus Report was based on data obtained from nearly 3,000 questionnaires. Overall, the authors claimed that since Kinsey, there had been redistribution of sexual values in American society. They found that people were more willing to engage in a variety of sexual behaviors and that there had been an increase in sexual interest and behavior in elderly Americans. In addition, the report examined the sexual behavior of people according to where they lived—the South, Northeast, West, and the Midwest.
Although one study cannot fill in all the gaps in knowledge about sexual attitudes and behaviors in the United States, this study did yield valuable information on sexuality, such as:
• Americans in their 60s and 70s reported experiencing greatly heightened levels of sexual activity.
• Married couples reported the highest level of sexual activity and satisfaction.
• Three out of five married people said their sex lives improved after marriage.
• Areas in which people live influenced overall sexual attitudes and behaviors. Midwesterners were found to have the least sexual activity, whereas those in the South reported the earliest ages of sexual initiation and the highest rates of premarital sex.
• People who are ultraconservative were more likely to be involved in frequent or ongoing extramarital affairs than are those who are ultraliberal.
• Men and women were both initiating sexual activity.
The Janus Report was widely criticized for many reasons. The biggest problems were that the sample was not randomly selected from the general population and also that many sexual behaviors were overestimated (Greely, 1994).