9.6: Conclusion
A research published in 2021 found that numerous aspects of sexual behavior varied by subgroups of relationship status, sexual orientation, race, and ethnicity. As oral, vaginal, or anal sex are all partnered behaviors, it follows that participating in ongoing romantic and sexual relationships facilitates access to potential sex partners, access that is more limited or at least not as readily available to people not participating in such relationships (Roberts, H. et al, 2021). This finding is in line with prior research, confirming that while single people may have greater opportunities for casual sex with a greater number of partners, people in a relationship have more frequent sex. Interestingly, people that reported being in a causal relationship(s) reported a higher frequency of sex and more sexual partners, though they constituted a small proportion of the sample.