Sexual Orientation Questions in the National Survey on Drug Use and Health

• Activity Number: 148
• Type: Invited
• Date/Time: Monday, August 4, 2014 : 10:30 AM to 12:20 PM
• Sponsor: Government Statistics Section
• Author(s): Grace O'Neill*+ and Rachel Lipari and David Dean Jr
• Companies: SAMHSA/HHS and SAMHSA/HHS and SAMHSA/HHS
• Keywords: sexual attraction questions ; sexual identity questions ; NSDUH ; Behavioral Health

Abstract

Grace O'Neill from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration will discuss results from a field test of two questions, one on sexual attraction and one on sexual identity, in the National Survey of Drug Use and Health. One of the goals of the Department of Health and Human Services is to add sexual orientation questions to all HHS-funded surveys as they are redesigned. To address this goal, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) has added two questions, one on sexual attraction and one on sexual identity to the 2013 NSDUH Dress Rehearsal. The inclusion of these items in the field test provides a limited opportunity to assess the impact of these items on trends prior to adding them to the 2015 NSDUH. This paper will discuss research conducted to identify which questions best fit the data needs of NSDUH including placement and administration, the results of the NSDUH Dress Rehearsal, and the placement of sexual orientation questions in future iterations of the survey.