The NSSHB has resulted in dozens of research publications and presentations. We encourage you to read through the original articles for numerous data points that may be of interest to you. Here are some that we find journalists commonly ask us about:

• There is enormous variability in the sexual repertoires of U.S. adults, with more than 40 combinations of sexual activity described at adults' most recent sexual event. (2009 NSSHB)
• Many older adults continue to have active pleasurable sex lives, reporting a range of different behaviors and partner types, however adults over the age of 40 have the lowest rates of condom use. Although these individuals may not be as concerned about pregnancy, this suggests the need to enhance education efforts for older individuals regarding STI risks and prevention. (2009 NSSHB)
• About 85% of men report that their partner had an orgasm at the most recent sexual event; this compares to the 64% of women who report having had an orgasm at their most recent sexual event. (A difference that is too large to be accounted for by some of the men having had male partners at their most recent event.) (2009 NSSHB)
• Men are more likely to orgasm when sex includes vaginal intercourse; women are more likely to orgasm when they engage in a variety of sex acts and when oral sex or vaginal intercourse is included. (2009 NSSHB)
• While about 7% of adult women and 8% of men identify as gay, lesbian or bisexual, the proportion of individuals in the U.S. who have had same-gender sexual interactions at some point in their lives is considerably higher. The proportion of women who self-identify as bisexual far exceeds those who self-identify as lesbian, especially among adolescent women. (2009 NSSHB, though these data are similar in recent waves as well.)
• At any given point in time, most U.S. adolescents are not engaging in partnered sexual behavior. While 40% of 17 year-old males reported vaginal intercourse in the past year, only 27% reported the same in the past 90 days. (2009 NSSHB)
• Adults using a condom for intercourse were just as likely to rate the sexual extent positively in terms of arousal, pleasure and orgasm than when having intercourse without one. (2009 NSSHB)
• Gender plays a critical role in understanding attitudes toward bisexual individuals among heterosexual, gay/lesbian, and other-identified adults. In general, women are more likely to report positive attitudes toward bisexual individuals than men. Additionally, attitudes toward bisexual women are more positive than attitudes toward bisexual men (2015 NSSHB – see Dodge et al.)
• More than 90% of sexually active women and men ages 18 to 50 reported low or no perceived risk of Zika. Most participants identified mosquito bite as a route of transmission, while significantly fewer identified sexual intercourse (≈ 40%) and vertical (29% men, 41% women) transmission routes. (2016 NSSHB – see Guerra-Reyes et al.)
• Among participants in relationships, approximately 89% reported being in monogamous partnerships, 4% reported open relationships (what some call consensual monogamy), and 8% reported being supposedly monogamous (what some call nonconsensual non-monogamy). (2012 NSSHB – see Levine et al.)
• Gay, lesbian and bisexual self-identified participants were less likely to report monogamy and more likely to report both open relationships and non-consensual non-monogamy. (2012 NSSHB – see Levine et al.)
• Thinking of their most recent sexual experience, most people report kissing (87%) and cuddling (70%); fewer (23%) reported massage. Respondents younger than 30 were significantly more likely to indicate they did not kiss because kissing would have been too intimate with their partner. Only cuddling was significantly associated with event-level emotional intimacy and sexual pleasure. (2014 NSSHB – see Herbenick et al., 2018).