title: Methodology of the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal-3).
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Data from the first two National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles, carried out in 1990-1991 (Natsal-1) and 1999-2001 (Natsal-2), have been extensively used to inform sexual health policy in Britain over the past two decades. Natsal-3 was carried out from September 2010 to August 2012 in order to provide up-to-date measures of sexual lifestyles and to extend the scope of the previous studies by including an older age group (up to 74 years), an extended range of topics and biological measures.
  
  
  METHODS
  We describe the methods used in Natsal-3, which surveyed the general population in Britain aged 16-74 years (with oversampling of younger adults aged 16-34 years).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall, 15 162 interviews were completed, with a response rate of 57.7% and a cooperation rate of 65.8%. The response rate for the boost sample of ages 16-34 years was 64.8%, only marginally lower than the 65.4% achieved for Natsal-2, which surveyed a similar age range (16-44). The data were weighted by age, gender and region to reduce possible bias. Comparisons with census data show the weighted sample to provide good representation on a range of respondent characteristics. The interview involved a combination of face-to-face and self-completion components, both carried out on computer. Urine samples from 4550 sexually-experienced participants aged 16-44 years were tested for a range of STIs. Saliva samples from 4128 participants aged 18-74 years were tested for testosterone.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Natsal-3 provides a high quality dataset that can be used to examine trends in sexual attitudes and behaviours over the past 20 years.
authors.affiliation: Research Department of Infection & Population Health, University College London, , London, UK.
authors.forename: Bob
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Erens
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Phelps
authors.forename: Soazig
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Clifton
authors.forename: Catherine H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Mercer
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tanton
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hussey
authors.forename: Pam
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Sonnenberg
authors.forename: Wendy
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Macdowall
authors.forename: Nigel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Field
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Datta
authors.forename: Kirstin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mitchell
authors.forename: Andrew J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Copas
authors.forename: Kaye
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wellings
authors.forename: Anne M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006306:Health Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008875:Middle Aged; D060728:Reproductive Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data / Q000639:trends; D012307:Risk Factors; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000652:urine; D013739:Testosterone / Q000378:metabolism; D006113:United Kingdom / Q000453:epidemiology
chemical_list: D013739:Testosterone
keywords: SEXUAL BEHAVIOUR; SEXUAL HEALTH; SOCIAL SCIENCE; STATISTICS