2002 Sexual Behavior, Perceptions, and Contraception

Provided below are results from Michigan State University's 2002 National College Health Assessment relating to sexual behavior, perceptions, and contraception

• Number of Partners Reported
• Perception of Sexual Activity of a "Typical" MSU Student
• Sexual Activity Reported and Perceptions
• Use of a Condom During Sexual Activity
• Methods to Prevent Pregnancy
• HIV

Number of Partners Reported

The questionnaire also includes another long series of questions regarding sexual behaviors, steps to prevent conception and sexually transmitted diseases, and perceptions of these behaviors by a “typical” student at MSU. The table on the right shows the percentage distribution of the number different partners, if any, respondents reported having sex with (oral, vaginal, or anal) during the last school year. The table indicates that:

• Roughly a quarter of respondents (25.2%) reported having no sexual partners during the last school year and 46.0% reported only a single partner.

• 8.0% of respondents reported having had four or more sexual partners during the past school year.

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Perception of Sexual Activity of a "Typical" MSU Student

The table also shows the percentage distribution regarding the number of sex partners respondents believed the “typical” student had at MSU. The table indicates that respondents overwhelmingly misperceive what is, in fact, typical. The table indicates that:

• 17.6% of respondents believed the “typical” student had four or more sex partners.

• 11.1 % of respondents believed that the “typical” student had one or fewer sex partners.

• Comparing the respondent’s belief about the typical student’s number of partners to his or her own, the table indicates that 77.5% of the respondents believed that the “typical” student had more sexual partners than the respondent did himself or herself.

• Based on the fact that the “typical” student actually had only a single partner or less, 89.0% of respondents over-estimated what is “typical” compared to what is actually typical.

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Sexual Activity Reported and Perceptions of Sexual Activity in the Previous 30 Days

The questionnaire asked respondents to indicate how many times in the previous 30 days they had engaged in each oral sex, vaginal sex, and anal sex. They were then asked to respond to a similar question about the “typical” MSU student. The table to the right shows the percentage distribution of responses for each of these. The table indicates that:

• Anal sex is relatively rare: 77.5% of respondents reported never having done this and another 18.7% reported not having done it in the previous 30 days. 5.5% of respondents believed that the “typical” MSU student had done this at least once in the previous month.

• Oral sex is as common as vaginal sex with 48.7% of respondents reporting having engaged in oral sex at least once in the past month compared to 48.8% for vaginal sex, but those engaging in vaginal sex report having done it more times.

• 71.3% of respondents believed that the “typical” MSU student had had oral sex a greater number of times than the respondent did personally, and, since the most common actual responses were “not in the past 30 days, or never, 96.7% of respondents over-estimated what is actually normal or most common.

• 68.8% of respondents believed the “typical” MSU student had vaginal sex at least once in the previous month when actually only 48.8% claimed to have done so, and 42.0% of respondents thought the “typical” MSU student had vaginal intercourse three or more times in the previous month compared to the 40.3% who actually reported having done so. That is, 64.4% of respondents over-estimated how many times the “typical” student had vaginal sex compared to themselves and 68.8% over-estimated what is typical compared to the actual average number of times.

• 89.2% of respondents believed that the “typical” student had not had anal sex in the past month and approximately one in ten believed that the “typical” student had engaged in this activity in the past month. 88.3% of respondents over-estimated what is “typical” compared to their own behavior and 54.8% over-estimated what is typical compared to the actual norm.

(Click to View)

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Use of a Condom during Sexual Activity

In the Past 30 Days

Respondents were asked to indicate how often they had used a condom when having each oral, vaginal, and anal sex of the times they did this in the past 30 days. They were asked to respond to a similar question regarding the “typical” MSU student as well. The table shows the results for these questions also. The table indicates that:

• Only 2.2% of respondents reported ever using a condom during oral sex, but more than half (51.4%) said they believed the “typical” student does at least rarely or more often.

• Of those who claimed to have had vaginal sex at least once in the previous month, 31.5% claimed they or their partner always used a condom, while 37.2% said they never used a condom; however, 63.6% of respondents said they believed the “typical” student mostly or always used a condom.

• Of those who claimed to have had anal sex at least once in the previous month (n=90), nearly two-thirds (63.7%) said they never used a condom while only one in five (20.0%) said they always did.

• Compared to what is actually the most common behavior, 51.8% of respondents over-estimate the use of condoms by the “typical” student during oral sex, 99.3% with respect to vaginal sex, and 93.4% with respect to condom using during anal sex.

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Methods to Prevent Pregnancy

For those who were sexually active, the questionnaire included another series of questions regarding the method the respondent and partner used to prevent pregnancy the last time they had vaginal intercourse. Respondents could use several methods simultaneously so multiple responses were possible. The table to the right shows the percentage of sexually active respondents who claimed using each of the various methods the last time they had intercourse. The table also compares the reported use of these across respondents of different backgrounds. The table indicates that:

• 56.2% of these respondents claimed to use birth control pills, 53.4% claimed to use condoms, 26.0% reported relying on “withdrawal,” 5.2% reported using no method, and 7.0% reported using the “morning after” pill.

• Females were more likely than males to report they or their partner used birth control pills, (suggesting that some of the males did not know their female partners were using birth control pills) and condoms. Males were more likely to report relying on Depo Provera and spermicides.

• White respondents were more likely than their counterparts to report using birth control pills, while other racial/ethnic group respondents were more likely to report using Norplant or nothing.

• On-campus respondents were more likely than their counterparts to report using condoms, while off-campus respondents were more likely to report using other methods.

• Members of fraternities or sororities were more likely than their non-Greek counterparts to report using “withdrawal” and diaphragms/cervical caps/sponges to prevent pregnancy.

Of those sexually active, 1.8% reported to have unintentionally become pregnant or gotten someone else pregnant during the last school year. Members of fraternities or sororities were much more likely to report that this happened.

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HIV

Respondents were also asked whether or not they had ever been tested for HIV. Since sexual activity is only one of several possible ways in which someone can contract HIV, all respondents, whether sexually active or not, were asked this question. The table shows the results for this as well. The table indicates that 22.8% of respondents claimed to have been tested for HIV. Off-campus respondents were more likely than their counterparts to report having been tested, but there were no significant differences among other groups of respondents.

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