Analyzing Sexual Numeracy Proficiency in Youth: Exploratory Results

We assessed 18 year olds (N=177) proficiency in understanding various quantitative information regarding sexual content and sexuality (ie., sexual numeracy). Sexual numeracy is a sub-category of the current research focussed on "health literacy". We administered a brief test which evaluated how well and to what degree the following quantitative concepts/techniques were understood:1. definition of odds versus probabilities (i.e, odds of getting an STD..); 2. effectiveness versus failure rates (i.e., of contraceptive methods) ; 3.distinction between incidence versus prevalence (i.e.,of sexual problems) ; 4. definition of survival versus mortality rates (i.e., in AIDs data) ; 5. distinction between rates versus ratios (i.e., rate of teen pregnancy v. ratio of abortions to live births); 6. the difference between "gain" versus "loss" frames in how data is presented ; 7. what line figures, bar graphs, 3-dimensional histograms portray. Results show that SN skill is low in males across most areas assessed but high for a relative majority of females. We also review the current status of research in SN and offer suggestions on how future research in SN might proceed. Without sound SN skill individuals may not fully participate in their sexual health care decisions or have the necessary knowledge for making the best decision regarding their sexual health.