Sex, Love, and Health in America

by Laumann, Edward O.; Michael, Robert T.

• ISBN13: 9780226469676
• ISBN10: 0226469670
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-12-01
• Publisher: Univ of Chicago Pr

Summary

In 1994, the University of Chicago Press published the landmark studyThe Social Organization of Sexuality, "the most important survey since the Kinsey report," according toTimemagazine. Based on data collected from the National Health and Social Life Survey, this heralded book answered hundreds of questions about the state of sex in America: how widespread is extramarital sex? how do women's sexual lives differ from men's? how do social factors such as education, race, and religion affect sexual conduct? While amazingly comprehensive, this earlier volume was devoted primarily to establishing baseline statistics and information. Two authors of that study, Edward O. Laumann and Robert T. Michael, now bring together the result of deeper research into and analysis of the information presented in the 1994 volume. The result,Sex, Love, and Health in America, is a companion toThe Social Organization of Sexualityand furthers our understanding of Americans' sexual practices.Sixteen researchers have contributed essays to this collection that explore controversial topics, including teenage sexuality, sexual contact between children and adults, abortion, the role of cohabitation in the sexual satisfaction of couples, and how sexual behavior has changed in response to AIDS, as well as a widely heralded examination of circumcision, reported in theNew York Times, which discusses the effects of the procedure on disease transmission and the preference for certain sexual practices. In its analysis, policy recommendations, and revelations about private practices,Sex, Love, and Health in Americawill, like the earlier volume, have a major role in shaping the discussion about American sexual behavior.

Author Biography

Edward O. Laumann is the George Herbert Mead Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Chicago.

Robert T. Michael is the Eliakim Hastings Moore Distinguished Service Professor in and dean of the Harris Graduate School of Public Policy Studies at the University of Chicago.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Abbreviations	x
Introduction: Setting the Scene	1	(38)
Edward O. Laumann
Robert T. Michael
Part 1: Sex during Adolescence	39	(68)
Teenage Sex and the Sexual Revolution	41	(31)
Kara Joyner
Edward O. Laumann
Choices Leading to Teenage Births	72	(35)
Robert T. Michael
Kara Joyner
Summary: Part 1, Sex during Adolescence	105	(2)
Part 2: Sex during Adulthood	107	(168)
Sexual Expression in America	109	(39)
Edward O. Laumann
Yoosik Youm
Sexual Contact between Children and Adults: A Life-Course Perspective	148	(49)
Christopher R. Browning
Edward O. Laumann
Race, Gender, and Class in Sexual Scripts	197	(42)
Jenna Mahay
Edward O. Laumann
Stuart Michaels
Emotional and Physical Satisfaction with Sex in Married, Cohabiting, and Dating Sexual Unions: Do Men and Women Differ?	239	(36)
Linda J. Waite
Kara Joyner
Summary: Part 2, Sex during Adulthood	270	(5)
Part 3: Sex and Health	275	(188)
Circumcision in the United States: Prevalence, Prophylactic Effects, and Sexual Practice	277	(25)
Edward O. Laumann
Christopher M. Masi
Ezra W. Zuckerman
Reported Changes in Sexual Behavior in Response to AIDS in the United States	302	(25)
Joel A. Feinleib
Robert T. Michael
Racial/Ethnic Group Differences in the Prevalence of Sexually Transmitted Diseases in the United States: A Network Explanation	327	(25)
Edward O. Laumann
Yoosik Youm
Sexual Dysfunction in the United States: Prevalence and Predictors	352	(25)
Edward O. Laumann
Anthony Paik
Raymond C. Rosen
Abortion Decisions in the United States	377	(62)
Robert T. Michael
Private Sexual Behavior, Public Opinion, and Public Health Policy Related to Sexually Transmitted Diseases: A U.S.-British Comparison	439	(24)
Robert T. Michael
Jane Wadsworth
Joel A. Feinleib
Anne M. Johnson
Edward O. Laumann
Kaye Wellings
Summary: Part 3, Sex and Health	454	(9)
Epilogue	463	(30)
Private Sex and Public Policy	465	(28)
Robert T. Michael
References	493	(24)
List of Contributors	517	(2)
Author Index	519	(6)
Subject Index	525