Methodology of the french national study “Context of Sexualities in France” (CSF-2023)

Article publié dans un numéro thématique de la revue scientifique Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health.

ABSTRACT

Introduction

The 2023 national survey “Context of Sexualities in France” (CSF-2023) explores sexuality and sexual health inFrance.

Methods

Conducted between November 2022 and December 2023, CSF-2023 is a cross-sectional probability survey involv-ing 21,259 respondents aged 15–89 in continental France. Participants were selected via random-digit dialing, completing a33-min phone interview (Part 1), followed by a 30-min self-administered online questionnaire for those 18 and older (Part 2). Sexually active respondents aged 18–59 also participated in a sexually transmitted infection (STI) self-testing study. The survey collected data on sociodemographic characteristics, sexual attitudes, relationships, practices, gender expressions, and digital usefor self-care and sexual practices.

Results

A total of 21,259 individuals completed the Part 1 survey (34% response rate). Of those, 12,906 individuals aged 18–89completed Part 2 (71% of the 18–89 eligible group). Among the 13,686 individuals aged 18–59 offered STI testing, 4872 (32%) re-turned results; of the 2959 aged 18–29 offered Human Papillomavirus (HPV) testing, 811 (27%) participated. Post-stratification weights were applied to mitigate non-response bias for key sociodemographic traits, with minimal impact on sexual and re-productive health (SRH) indicators, reaffirming sample representativeness. Fieldwork highlighted the importance of not onlyadapting questionnaire design and sequencing, but also providing strong psychological and supervisory support to interviewersadministering a large-scale survey on sensitive and sometimes distressing topics.

Conclusion

CSF-2023 provides rich data to track trends in sexuality and sexual health in France, while expanding knowledgeon emerging topics such as digital sexual health and SRH self-care. These findings can inform policy and programming, includ-ing the French National Strategy for Sexual Health and the World Health Organization European action plan for SRH. In parallel,the CSF-2023 fieldwork experience provides important methodological insights into the conduct of large-scale sexual healthresearch, underscoring the central role of interviewer training, supervision, and psychological support in ensuring high-qualitydata collection on sensitive topics.

• CSF
• CSF-2023
• méthodologie