Methodology of the German National Sex Survey - GeSiD (German Health and Sexuality Survey).

The German Health and Sexuality Survey (GeSiD) was carried out in 2018/2019 to provide up-to-date measures of sexual behavior, sexual attitudes and sexual lifestyles of the adult population. We describe the methods used in GeSiD which surveyed the general population in Germany aged 18-75 years (with oversampling of younger adults aged 18-35 years). This article focuses on study design, recruitment, and response rate and discusses the strategies implemented to enhance the response rate compared to the pilot study. Overall, 4.955 interviews were completed with a response rate of 30.2%. The data were weighted by age, gender, education, nationality, and region to reduce possible bias. Compared to the German 2018 census, the weighted sample provides good representativeness for selected respondent characteristics. The computer-assisted interviews consisted of a combination of face-to-face and self-completion components. They covered a broad perspective on sexual health, which included topics such as online sexual activities, pleasure, sexual dysfunction, and sexual violence. Reliable data on sexual and reproductive health in Germany are urgently needed for evidence-based prevention and health promotion work, to inform sexual health policy and for cross-national comparisons of the development of sexual behavior in Europe.

[Sexual and contraceptive behaviour of young people throughout the decades : German Federal Centre for Health Education: Selected survey results on youth sexuality]. / Sexual- und Verhütungsverhalten Jugendlicher im Wandel : Ausgewählte Ergebnisse der Studien zur Jugendsexualität der Bundeszentrale für gesundheitliche Aufklärung.

The study Youth Sexuality 2015 by the German Federal Centre for Health Education (BZgA) makes clear the changes in the sexual and contraceptive behaviour of teenagers and young adults over the last 35 years. Among young Germans, we can see that there is now more gender similarity both with regard to the age at which intercourse first takes place, and in contraceptive behaviour. The proportion of those who take no contraceptive precautions when they have intercourse for the first time is now 6% among male German teenagers and 8% among female ones, a lower figure than ever previously recorded. Communication about contraception, both at home and between partners, is making a substantial contribution to responsible contraceptive behaviour on the part of teenagers and young adults. Alongside education about sexuality in the family and at school, there are also structural influences on the positive developments in Germany. And yet there are still target groups that are inadequately reached. Many migrants are less well informed about bodily processes, their contraceptive practice is not so good, and their cultural/religious background also tends to mean that they are excluded from access to information. Education and social deprivation continue to be important factors in differences in sexual and contraceptive behaviour. In this area, pro-active efforts are necessary.