The Social Organization of Sexuality: Sexual Practices in the United States
Based on the National Health and Social Life Survey, a 1992 nationwide survey of 3432 American men and women between the ages of 18 and 59, this is one of two books reporting on the findings. This book is intended for professional social scientists, counselors, and health professionals, while Robert T. Michael and others' Sex in America, just published by Little, Brown, anticipates a more general audience. Beginning with the theoretical foundations, rationale for, and design of the methodology, the authors put the work in historical context as they assert its accuracy and generalizations, urging caution about interpretation and implications of their sometimes surprising findings. Though the study was designed largely to "fill significant gaps in our knowledge of sexual behavior associated with the acquisition of the AIDS virus," this book achieves a refreshingly readable examination of masturbation, sexually transmitted infections, cohabitation and marriage, fertility, and homosexuality. The text throughout is buttressed by graphs, charts, tables, diagrams, appendixes, bibliographic references, and author and subject indexes (not seen). For academic collections.James E. Van Buskirk, San Francisco P.L.Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.