Sexual Health & Wellbeing Survey: Main Findings

Executive summary

1. This report presents findings from an online survey of over 1,500 Scottish adults aged 18 or over, who are or have been in a sexual relationship in the last year. It focuses on sexual health and wellbeing including emotional and physical health issues, sources of information and advice, behaviours, and positive and negative experiences. Unless stated otherwise, differences between sub-groups in this summary and the rest of the report are statistically significant.

2. The survey was undertaken to gather data which will inform policy and practice by the Scottish Government and its partners who are involved in delivering the Scottish Government's Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Framework (2011-2015) and its successor document. It also provides a baseline which will help to assess progress against two of the outcomes in the Strategy.

• Outcome 4: Sexual relationships are free from coercion and harm;
• Outcome 5: A society where the attitudes of individuals, the public, professionals and the media in Scotland towards sexual health and blood-borne viruses are positive, non-stigmatising and supportive.

3. The main themes of the survey were:

• How easy people find it to talk about sex with a sexual partner;
• General health and the impact of specific conditions;
• Levels of satisfaction with relationships and experiences, including regret;
• The impacts of alcohol and drug use on experiences;
• Experiences of abuse by a partner;
• Advice and support.

4. The results of the survey will provide a basis for assessing the extent to which measures included in the Framework are improving important sexual health and wellbeing outcomes across the Scottish adult population.

The sample

5. The sample consisted of 1,516 Scottish adults aged 18 and over who are or have been in a sexual relationship in the last year.

6. Eighty-seven percent are currently in a sexual relationship with one other person, 2% with more than one. Ten percent were not in a relationship at the time of the survey.

7. Forty-five percent of people reported having sex once a week or more often on average, with the key variation being by age, from 60% of 18-29 year olds down to 26% of over 70s.

8. Almost a third (31%) have a general health problem or disability lasting or expected to last at least 12 months. Nearly a quarter (23%) also consider themselves to have a health condition that has affected their sexual activity in the last year. This varies from 13% of people aged 18-29 up to 45% of the over 70s. They were also asked about a range of specific conditions (discussed at paragraph 12).

9. Thirteen percent of people who do not consider themselves to have a general disability or illness nonetheless feel they have a condition that affects their sexual activity.

Happiness and wellbeing

10. Seventy-one percent of respondents are happy with their current sexual relationship(s) and 63% are happy with their sex life. Eighteen percent disagreed that they are happy with their sex life.

11. Women and younger people and those in heterosexual relationships are the most likely to be happy with both their relationships and their sex life. Those with a disability or illness are less likely to be happy.

12. The vast majority were happy with the emotional and physical experience they had the last time they had sex.

13. Fifty-eight percent had experienced at least one issue which had a potentially negative effect on their sexual health or wellbeing in the last year. The most common was a lack of interest in sex (27%), followed by not reaching a climax (25%). Fourteen percent of men have been affected by problems of getting or keeping an erection and although this affected just 3% of those aged 30-39 for example, it was an issue for 31% of the over 70s.

14. Younger people appeared to be particularly prone to anxiousness during or before sex, something that affected 22% of 18-29s but just 9% of those in their thirties.

15. Those with a disability or illness were also more likely to have experienced an issue with a potentially negative impact, as were respondents who were Lesbian, Gay or Bisexual (LGB).^[1]

16. Although a lack of interest and not reaching a climax were the most prevalent issues, they were rated as relatively less distressing compared to erectile problems which 49% of men who had experienced such a problem described as 'very or fairly' distressing.

17. Twenty-one percent of all respondents had avoided sex in the last year because of such an issue and, again, older people and those with a disability were the most likely to do so. Over half of men who had avoided sex did so because of erectile problems whilst a lack of interest cut across men and women for 44% of all those surveyed.

Talking about sex

18. Talking about Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) was felt to be the most difficult subject to discuss by those that participated in the survey. LGB respondents found it more difficult than heterosexual people.

19. Twenty percent of those with a disability find it difficult to tell a partner they do not want to have sex. This compares to 13% of those without a disability.

Advice and information

Twenty-two percent of respondents had sought advice or information on sexual issues in the last year. This was significantly higher among young people and LGB respondents. Most of those who had sought advice did so through their GP, but advice websites and talking with friends, family and partners were important as well. Ten percent of LGB respondents had used a sexual health clinic.

Regret

20. Ten percent reported that they had sex which they regretted in the last year, a figure driven by young people (24% of 18-24s) and, within that group, equal for men and women. Eight percent of this age group had done so three times or more.

21. Seven percent felt that drinking had affected their sex life in the last year and it was highest among those aged 18-29 (18%). It had happened three times or more for 7% of that age group. Just 1% of all reported that drugs had had a negative impact on their sexual experiences.

Abuse

22. Respondents were asked whether they had been affected by physical or emotional abuse experiences in the last year. Five percent of women reported having been humiliated or emotionally abused and 3% are or have been afraid of a partner or ex-partner.

23. Younger people had more of these abuse experiences, with 9% of 18-24s reporting humiliation or emotional abuse (11% of women in that age group) and 6% of 18-24s having been told whom they could see and where they could go.