Publication:
Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults

dc.contributor.author Smith, Anthony en_US
dc.contributor.author Rissel, Chris en_US
dc.contributor.author Richters, Juliet en_US
dc.contributor.author Grulich, Andrew en_US
dc.contributor.author de Visser, Richard en_US
dc.date.accessioned 2021-11-25T14:39:49Z
dc.date.available 2021-11-25T14:39:49Z
dc.date.issued 2003 en_US
dc.description.abstract Objective To describe the prevalence of same-sex and opposite-sex attraction and experience in Australia and the prevalence of different sexual identities. Method Computer-assisted telephone interviews were completed by a representative sample of 10,173 men and 9,134 women aged 16–59 years from all States and Territories of Australia. The overall response rate was 73.1% (men, 69.4%; women, 77.6%). Men and women were asked about their experience of same-sex and opposite-sex attraction and experience along with their sexual identity. The agreement and disagreement between sexual attraction and sexual experience were explored. Results Among men, 97.4% identified as heterosexual, 1.6% as gay or homosexual and 0.9% as bisexual. Among women, 97.7% identified as heterosexual, 0.8% as lesbian or homosexual and 1.4% as bisexual. Among men, 91.4% reported only opposite-sex attraction and experience, as did 84.9% of women. Thus, some same-sex attraction or experience was reported by 8.6% of men and 15.1% of women. Of men, 4.2% reported sexual attraction and sexual experience that was inconsistent, as did 8.2% of women. Factors associated with this agreement or disagreement included age group, non-English-speaking background, education and socio-economic status. Conclusion Relatively few Australians reported a sexual identity other than heterosexual. However, both same-sex attraction and homosexual experience are more common than homosexual or bisexual identity would suggest. Reporting same-sex attraction or experience was associated with poorer mental health and is likely to reflect responses to homophobia in Australian society. en_US
dc.identifier.issn 1326-0200 en_US
dc.identifier.uri http://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/43113
dc.language English
dc.language.iso EN en_US
dc.rights CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 en_US
dc.rights.uri https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/ en_US
dc.source Legacy MARC en_US
dc.subject.other homosexuality en_US
dc.subject.other sexual behaviour en_US
dc.subject.other Australia en_US
dc.title Sex in Australia: Sexual identity, sexual attraction and sexual experience among a representative sample of adults en_US
dc.type Journal Article en
dcterms.accessRights metadata only access
dspace.entity.type Publication en_US
unsw.accessRights.uri http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_14cb
unsw.identifier.doiPublisher http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-842X.2003.tb00801.x en_US
unsw.relation.faculty Medicine & Health
unsw.relation.ispartofissue 2 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofjournal Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofpagefrompageto 138-145 en_US
unsw.relation.ispartofvolume 27 en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Smith, Anthony en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Rissel, Chris en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Richters, Juliet, Public Health & Community Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation Grulich, Andrew, National Centre in HIV Epidemiology & Clinical Research, Faculty of Medicine, UNSW en_US
unsw.relation.originalPublicationAffiliation de Visser, Richard en_US
unsw.relation.school School of Population Health *
unsw.relation.school The Kirby Institute *
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