Eddy's key psychological and social statistics: Part I

Eddy Elmer

Please note: This information is just for study purposes. The data and figures in here are not meant to be quoted. This is a continual work in progress, so many sections are only partially complete.

% people homosexual (using the criteria of finding a person of the same sex your predominant physically arousing attraction): men 6%; women 2% (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

% people homosexual (using the criteria of identifying as gay): men 3%; women 1.5% (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

where most people first met their romantic partners: "Most couples were introduced by families or friends or introduced themselves, usually in situations where others in the room were already preselected—they were at a party given by a mutual friend or they were at a social organization or club [they were engaged in a common shared activity]. And the more stable the relationship [between the romantic partners], the more likely [they] were to have met through their social networks" (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

percent Americans believing homosexuality to be always morally wrong, from 1972-1991: just over 70% (reference: R.T. Michael et al., Sex in America: A definitive survey (1994)

number mentally ill people who are violent: 2%

number people mentally ill (ie, clinical disorder) at any point in their lives: 20-30%

number schizophrenics who are violent: 12-13%

% people in U.S. thinking that homosexuality cannot be reversed through techniques involving "love, understanding, and the word of God": 93%

% people in U.S. believing that homosexual behaviour is acceptable: ~50%; ~45% say unacceptable; ~5% no opinion

U.S. beliefs on origins of homosexuality: ~40%~ think born with it; ~40% think its upbringing/environment; ~12% think both; ~70% conservatives think it's a choice [Note: pedigree studies, and studies of identical twins separated at birth and raised in different families shows that, at least for male gays, sexual orientation is primarily genetically determined, but appears to rely on an environmental trigger which may or may not occur in an individual's early childhood]

Canadian attitudes on homosexuality—"Do you approve or disapprove of homosexuality": 40% "approve"; 35% disapprove; rest undecided, cf. Environics; most accepting in Quebec at about 90%; ~60% Canadian Alliance, 41% PC, 34% Liberal, 32% NDP, and 9% Bloc Quebecois strongly disapprove, cf. Leger Marketing)

lifetime prevalance of social phobia: 7-8%; DSM says 3-13%

prevalence anorexia nervosa: 0.5%-1.0% (late adolescence and early adulthood)

prevalence bulimia nervosa: 1-3% (late adolescence and early adulthood)

% anorexics who don't respond to treatment: 30%

% anorexics who die: 10%

% suicide victims also depressed or having some other mental disorder: ~90%

% kids in self-care/"latchkey": ~7% to 15-20% of early elementary kids to 45% of late elementary kids

people infected with HIV/AIDS worldwide: about 42 million; Canada = 20,000

% people worldwide contracting HIV through heterosexual sex: 70%; from male-male sex 10%; rest due to IV drug use, mother-child transmission, and unsafe blood supply

years during which gender identity develops: first three

in men, correlation between how aroused they say they are and their erectile response: very high

in women, correlation between how aroused they say they are and their physiological arousal: very low, if non-existant

in men, typical sexual response cycle: desire, arousal, plateau, orgasm, refractory period

in women, possible sexual response cycle: arousal, desire, plateau, orgasm (ie, arousal can occur without feelings of desire; desire seems more dependent on external factors, such as love for the mate, feelings of security, etc.)

heterosexual men get aroused mainly by what kinds of images: opposite sex ones

homosexual men get aroused mainly by what kinds of images: same-sex ones

heterosexual and homosexual women both get aroused mainly by what kinds of images: both opposite sex and same sex

proportion of cult members who are psychologically healthy: quote from J.W. Santrock, in Adolescent Development: "Who joins cults? For the most part, normal, average people. Approximately two-thirds of cult members are psychologically healthy individuals who come from normal families (Cialdini & Rhoad, 1999). The remaining one-third often have depressive symptoms, in many cases linked with personal loss such as a death in the family, a failed romantic relationship, or career problems. Only about 5 percent of cult members have major psychological problems before joining the cult. Cults prefer intelligent, productive individuals who can contribute money and talent to "the case," whatever that might be. . .Many individuals who become cult members are in a transitional phase of life. They have moved to a new city, lost a job, dropped out of school, or given up traditional religion as personally irrelevant. Potential cult members might find their work boring or stressful, their education meaningless, their social life not going well, their family remote or dysfunctional, their friends too busy to spend time with them, or their trust in government lost. Cults promise to fulfill most of a person's individual needs and to make their life safe, healthy, caring, and predictable. Cult leaders offer followers simple paths to happiness" (p. 417, 8th edition).

most common sources of sexual information: in order=peers, literature, mothers, schools, experience; schools account for only 15% of adolescents' knowledge of sex; many students say they learned more about sex from reading than from anywhere else

% women with masturbatory experience who don't orgasm: ~50% (Everaerd and Laan, 1994, cited in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, by Friedman and Downey)

% personality variation directly influenced by genes: 20-50% (Segal 1999, quoted in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, by Friedman and Downey); shared environment has little influence; non-shared environment accounts for most of the rest of the variation

% people with dementia of the Alzheimer's type: 2-4% people over 65; over 85, 20%+ (this includes people with both Alzheimer's and vascular dementia)

nature-nurture debate on homosexuality: from Friedman and Downey, in Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002, p. 49; "Although the results of [genetic] studies vary, no modern investigations that have been replicated suggest that homosexuality is as heritable as IQ or that it is not influenced by environmental factors, although there remains some uncertainty about the precise nature of these factors."

concordance rate for homosexuality in monozygotic vs. dizygotic twins: about 50% vs. about 25% in men; about 50% vs. about 2% in women (cf. Bailey and Pillard, 1993, in Friedman and Downey, Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002); Bailey et al. 1999, cited in Friedman and Downey=male homosexuality is familial

is childhood gender nonconformity heritable? for both men and women, yes; also, strongly associated with adult homosexual orientation, and somewhat less so for females (cf. Bailey and Zucker 1995, in Friedman and Downey, Sexual Orientation and Psychoanalysis, 2002); Friedman and Downey, p. 53: "In fact, this is one of the most robust associations in the behavioral sciences."; homosexuals experience more childhood gender nonconformity than heterosexuals; and many nonconforming children do not go on to become homosexual

% Canadians favouring same-sex marriages: slight majority

North American divorce rate: ~40%

% kids who will suffer significant adjustment problems as teenagers as a result of divorce: ~20-25% (NIMH); % who will develop mental disorders without intervention ~25% (compared with 11% who get interventions) [see JAMA Oct. 16, 2002]

% American Psychological Association members who go to the annual conventions: ~5%

% college students who think at the formal operational level: 17-67%

% kids securely attached: 65%; avoidant ; ambivalent ___?; disorganised/disoriented 10%

% population ENFP: ~3%

% autistics who never develop any functional language: 50%

% autistics retarded: 75%

most common form of mental retardation: mild (~75% retarded people)

# days it takes marijuana to fully leave the body: ~30 days

#hours takes most of ingested Rohypnol to leave the body: ~4 hours

% school age children in NA currently taking Ritalin or a similar drug: ~15%

% seniors living alone: 30%

See Eddy's Key Psychological and Social Statistics: Part II, Part III