SURVEY TITLE: British Columbia Adolescent Health Survey
ACRONYM: BC AHS I, BC AHS II, BC AHS III
SPONSOR: The McCreary Centre Society.
SURVEY PURPOSE: The Adolescent Health Survey (AHS) is a questionnaire used to gather information about youth health. The survey provides information about physical and emotional health, and about factors that can influence health during adolescence or in later life. Survey results are used extensively by schools, communities, government agencies, health professionals and by young people themselves in planning youth programs and services.
LOCATION SAMPLED: British Columbia, Canada.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 1992 (BC AHS I), 1998 (BC AHS II), 2003 (BC AHS III).
SAMPLE SIZE: The BC AHS III was administered in over 1,500 classrooms by approximately 190 Public Health Nursing staff during the spring of 2003. Over 30,000 BC students in grades 7 through 12 completed a questionnaire. Forty-five of the Province's 59 school districts participated in AHS III.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: self-completed questionnaire.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
BC AHS I:
Q81. People have different feelings about themselves when it comes to questions of being attracted to other people. Which of the following best describes your feelings? 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex), Mostly heterosexual, Bisexual (equally attracted to men and women), Mostly homosexual, 100% homosexual (“gay/lesbian”; attracted to persons of the same sex), Not sure.
Q82. When you daydream or fantasize about sex, do you think about: Males, Females, Both, I do not yet fantasize about sex.
BC AHS II:
Q. 93. People have different feelings about themselves when it comes to questions of being attracted to other people. Which of the following best describes your feelings? 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex), Mostly heterosexual, Bisexual (equally attracted to men and women), Mostly homosexual, 100% homosexual (“gay/lesbian”; attracted to persons of the same sex), Not sure.
BC AHS III:
#90. During the past year, with how many different male partners have you had sexual intercourse? Response options include: I have never had sexual intercourse, 0 males, 1 male, 2
males, 3 or more males.
#91. During the past year, with how many different female partners have you had sexual intercourse? Response options include: I have never had sexual intercourse, 0 females, 1 female, 2 females, 3 or more females.
Q. 99. People have different feelings about themselves when it comes to questions of being attracted to other people. Which of the following best describes your feelings? 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex), Mostly heterosexual, Bisexual (attracted to men and women), Mostly homosexual, 100% homosexual (“gay/lesbian”; attracted to persons of the same sex), Not sure.
RESULTS:
DATA ACCESS: Unknown/Unavailable
ACRONYM: BC AHS I, BC AHS II, BC AHS III
SPONSOR: The McCreary Centre Society.
SURVEY PURPOSE: The Adolescent Health Survey (AHS) is a questionnaire used to gather information about youth health. The survey provides information about physical and emotional health, and about factors that can influence health during adolescence or in later life. Survey results are used extensively by schools, communities, government agencies, health professionals and by young people themselves in planning youth programs and services.
LOCATION SAMPLED: British Columbia, Canada.
YEARS SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTED: 1992 (BC AHS I), 1998 (BC AHS II), 2003 (BC AHS III).
SAMPLE SIZE: The BC AHS III was administered in over 1,500 classrooms by approximately 190 Public Health Nursing staff during the spring of 2003. Over 30,000 BC students in grades 7 through 12 completed a questionnaire. Forty-five of the Province's 59 school districts participated in AHS III.
METHOD OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION DATA COLLECTION: self-completed questionnaire.
SEXUAL ORIENTATION QUESTIONS:
BC AHS I:
Q81. People have different feelings about themselves when it comes to questions of being attracted to other people. Which of the following best describes your feelings? 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex), Mostly heterosexual, Bisexual (equally attracted to men and women), Mostly homosexual, 100% homosexual (“gay/lesbian”; attracted to persons of the same sex), Not sure.
Q82. When you daydream or fantasize about sex, do you think about: Males, Females, Both, I do not yet fantasize about sex.
BC AHS II:
Q. 93. People have different feelings about themselves when it comes to questions of being attracted to other people. Which of the following best describes your feelings? 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex), Mostly heterosexual, Bisexual (equally attracted to men and women), Mostly homosexual, 100% homosexual (“gay/lesbian”; attracted to persons of the same sex), Not sure.
BC AHS III:
#90. During the past year, with how many different male partners have you had sexual intercourse? Response options include: I have never had sexual intercourse, 0 males, 1 male, 2
males, 3 or more males.
#91. During the past year, with how many different female partners have you had sexual intercourse? Response options include: I have never had sexual intercourse, 0 females, 1 female, 2 females, 3 or more females.
Q. 99. People have different feelings about themselves when it comes to questions of being attracted to other people. Which of the following best describes your feelings? 100% heterosexual (attracted to persons of the opposite sex), Mostly heterosexual, Bisexual (attracted to men and women), Mostly homosexual, 100% homosexual (“gay/lesbian”; attracted to persons of the same sex), Not sure.
RESULTS:
- Saewyc EM. Bauer GR. Skay CL. Bearinger LH. Resnick MD. Reis E. Murphy A. Measuring sexual orientation in adolescent health surveys: evaluation of eight school-based surveys. Journal of Adolescent Health. 35(4):345.e1-15, 2004 Oct. PURPOSE: To examine the performance of various items measuring sexual orientation within 8 school-based adolescent health surveys in the United States and Canada from 1986 through 1999. METHODS: Analyses examined nonresponse and unsure responses to sexual orientation items compared with other survey items, demographic differences in responses, tests for response set bias, and congruence of responses to multiple orientation items; analytical methods included frequencies, contingency tables with Chi-square, and ANOVA with least significant differences (LSD)post hoc tests; all analyses were conducted separately by gender. RESULTS: In all surveys, nonresponse rates for orientation questions were similar to other sexual questions, but not higher; younger students, immigrants, and students with learning disabilities were more likely to skip items or select "unsure." Sexual behavior items had the lowest nonresponse, but fewer than half of all students reported sexual behavior, limiting its usefulness for indicating orientation. Item placement in the survey, wording, and response set bias all appeared to influence nonresponse and unsure rates.CONCLUSIONS: Specific recommendations include standardizing wording across future surveys, and pilot testing items with diverse ages and ethnic groups of teens before use. All three dimensions of orientation should be assessed where possible; when limited to single items, sexual attraction may be the best choice. Specific wording suggestions are offered for future surveys.
- Mark G. The Health of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgendered, Two-spirited and Questioning Youth in British Columbia and the Influence of the School Environment. October 2, 2004. (in particular, see Table 1)
- Being Out: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender Youth in BC: an Adolescent Health Survey. Burnaby: McCreary Centre Society, 1999.
DATA ACCESS: Unknown/Unavailable