Parenthood is one of the most universal and highly valued experiences of American adults. However, lesbian and gay adults in the United States are much less likely than heterosexual adults to be parents. Our goal was to explore the reasons why this is the case. Using nationally representative data from the 2002 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG), we studied parenting intentions, desires, a...

OBJECTIVE To compare sexual orientation group differences in the longitudinal development of alcohol use behaviors during adolescence. DESIGN Community-based prospective cohort study. SETTING Self-reported questionnaires. PARTICIPANTS A total of 13,450 Growing Up Today Study participants (79.7% of the original cohort) aged 9 to 14 years at baseline in 1996 were followed up for more than 7...

OBJECTIVE To investigate selected mental health characteristics of lesbians and bisexual undergraduate college women as compared with heterosexual college women. PARTICIPANTS Self-identified lesbians and bisexual and heterosexual female college students who took part in the American College Health Association National College Health Assessment II (ACHA-NCHA-II) in Fall 2008, Spring 2009, and ...

Men's body odor influences women's mate choice and individual variation among traits affects hedonic perceptions of this odor (e.g., immune system characteristics). Previous research by Sergeant (2002) indicated that one such characteristic is sexual orientation: body odor from homosexual men was perceived by heterosexual women as more hedonically pleasing than that of heterosexual men. The cur...

BACKGROUND One of the major factors impacting on a couple's relationship is the desire to have children. To many couples having a child is a confirmation of their love and relationship and a means to deepen and develop their intimate relationship. At the same time parental stress can impact on relationship quality. Relationship quality in lesbian couples is, currently, sparsely studied. The aim...

Preadolescent sexuality among urban, minority youth is considered within a normative developmental context. Fourth- and fifth-grade children living in an urban, primarily African-American, low-income neighborhood were interviewed regarding situations of sexual possibility and contigencies of heterosocial and heterosexual behavior. Findings are discussed in light of factors that may influence ea...

BACKGROUND CD4 lymphocyte counts are used to monitor immune status in HIV disease. An understanding of the variability of CD4 counts which occurs in the absence of HIV infection is essential to their interpretation. The sources and degree of such variability have not been extensively studied. OBJECTIVES To establish reference ranges for CD4 counts in HIV-seronegative women and heterosexual me...

Sexually transmitted infections (STI) in HIV-infected people are of increasing concern. We estimated STI prevalence and sexual healthcare seeking behaviour in 224 sexually active HIV-infected people, including men who have sex with men (MSM, n = 112), heterosexual men (n = 65) and women (n = 47). Laboratory-diagnosed bacterial STI were more common in MSM (Chlamydia trachomatis 10.7%; 95% CI 6.2...

AIM The rates of HIV acquired through heterosexual contact are increasing in the Czech Republic. This study explored potential HIV risk associa-tions with alcohol, illicit drugs and sexual behaviours among adults from a community-based sample attending gay- and non-gay venues in Prague. METHODS Women attending bars, cafes and beer gardens in central Prague responded to the self-administered, ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of the present study was to examine differences in lifestyle factors such as physical activity among homosexual (gay or lesbian), bisexual, and heterosexual Korean adolescents. METHODS The sample consisted of 74,186 adolescents from grades 7-12 (ages 12-18) who participated in the 8(th) annual Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey in 2012. Of this sample, only 11,8...