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American Sexual Behavior: Demographics of Sexual Activity, Fertility and Childbearing edited by Marlene WeigelProvides information on reproductive health and family formation practices in the United States, including data on sexuality, fertility, marriage, and childbirth.ContentsHighlightsSeventeen Is the Average Age at First Sexual IntercourseMost Are “Going Steady” with First Sexual PartnerMost Women Had Mixed Feelings about First Sexual IntercourseMost Use Birth Control during First Sexual IntercourseFew Wait until Marriage before Having SexAmong Teens Who Have Not Had Sex, Morals Is the Number-One ReasonHighlightsMost Teenagers Have Sex before Age 18Many Teens Have Had More than One Sexual PartnerFew Teens Limit Themselves to Oral SexMost Teenagers Have Not Had Sexual Intercourse in Past MonthTeens Have Mixed Feelings about Sexual ActivityHighlightsNearly Everyone Has had Sex by Their Early TwentiesMost Women have Had More than One Sex PartnerThe Largest Share of Men Has Had Only One Sex Partner in the Past YearOral Sex Is CommonMost Men Have a Long-Term Relationship with Their Sex PartnerSome Men Have Been Forced to Have SexMost Think It Is OK for Unmarried Adults to Have SexHighlightsOnly 2 Percent of Men Say They Are HomosexualMore than Nine out of Ten Men Are Attracted Only to the Opposite SexSix Percent of Men Have had Oral or Anal Sex with Another MaleAmong Women, Homosexuals Are Least Likely to Have Had a Sexually Transmitted InfectionMost Women Think Adoption by Homosexuals Is OKHighlightsAIDS Cases in the United States Are Approaching 1 MillionAIDS Deaths Exceed Half a MillionThe AIDS Survival Rate Is above 80 PercentThe HIV Death Rate Has Plummeted among Men Since 1990Many People Live with AIDSNew York State Has Largest Number of People Living with AIDSHaving Multiple Sex Partners Increases HIV RiskMost People Aged 15 to 44 Have Been Tested for HIVMany Women Report having Had a Sexually Transmitted InfectionHighlightsHalf of Women Aged 15 to 44 Have CohabitedMore than One-Fourth of 15-to-44 Year Olds Cohabited before Their First MarriageMost Think It Is OK for Couples to Live Together without MarryingAge at First Marriage varies Widely by EducationMany Women Are in a Second or Higher MarriageOlder Boomers Are Prone to DivorceMarrying Young Often Leads to DivorceMen Place Greater Importance on Marriage than WomenHighlightsChildlessness has Grown Sightly Since 1990Twelve Percent of Women Aged 15 to 44 Have Impaired FecundityA Large Proportion of Women Take Advantage of Infertility ServicesMen Are Less Troubled by Childlessness than WomenHighlightsMore Women Are Using ContraceptionSixty Percent of Catholics Use ContraceptionMost Young Women Who Use Contraception Are on the PillMost Men Used Contraception the Last Time They Had SexAmong Women Who Do Not Use Birth Control, 11 Percent Are Trying to Become PregnantCondom Use at First Sexual Intercourse has Greatly IncreasedContraceptive Sterilization Is Popular with Increasing AgeMany Women Use Family Planning ServicesHighlightsTwo-Thirds of Women Aged 15 to 44 Have had at Least One PregnancyOn a Scale of 1 to 10, Women Rate Their Happiness with Pregnancies an 8Most Teen Girls Would Be Very Upset If They Became PregnantThe Average Woman Has Three Pregnancies in her LifetimePregnancy Rate among Women under Age 30 Has DeclinedSixty-Three Percent of Pregnancies End in a Live BirthTwenty Percent of Women Have Been to a Doctor for a Pregnancy Test in the Past YearMore than 90 Percent of Pregnancies Receive early Prenatal CareMore than One in Ten Women Smoke during PregnancyHighlightsWomen’s Average Age at First Birth Has IncreasedBirth Rate Has Risen for Women Aged 30 or OlderHispanics Have the Highest Birth RateForty Percent of Births Are First BirthsHispanics Account for Nearly One in Four BirthsOlder Mothers Are Better EducatedMore than One in Four Babies Are Born by Caesarean SectionEight Percent of Babies Have Low Birth WeightAmniocentesis Is Performed on Only 2 Percent of BirthsMost Women Aged 15 to 44 Have Had at Least One ChildThe Average Women Expected to Have Two ChildrenBirths Outside of Marriage Are CommonNearly One-Third of Women Have Had an Unwanted or Mistimed BirthMost Women Wait Two or More Years between First and Second BirthsBreastfeeding Is IncreasingMost Working Women Take Maternity LeaveMost Men and Women Think Out-of-Wedlock Childbearing Is OKHighlightsOnly 67 Percent of Children Live with Both ParentsMany Households Have Stepchildren or Adopted ChildrenMany Women Consider Adoption, Few AdoptMany Women Care for Children to Whom They Did Not Give BirthTwenty-Seven Percent of Fathers Live Apart from Their ChildrenFathers Who Live Apart from Their Children Are Not Satisfied with VisitsMost Mothers WorkWorking Women Depend on a Variety of Childcare ArrangementsFew Young and Middle-Aged Adults Believe in Traditional Sex Roles