Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 17, 2026

Observation and Quantification of Mating Behavior in the Pinewood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
Published on: December 25, 2016
Prostitution and the sex discrepancy in reported number of sexual partners
D D Brewer1, J J Potterat, S B Garrett
1Alcohol and Drug Abuse Institute, University of Washington, 3937 15th Avenue NE, Seattle, WA 98105, USA. ddbrewer@u.washington.edu
Abstract:
One of the most reliable and perplexing findings from surveys of sexual behavior is that men report substantially more sexual partners than women do. We use data from national sex surveys and studies of prostitutes and their clients in the United States to examine sampling bias as an explanation for this disparity. We find that prostitute women are underrepresented in the national surveys. Once their undersampling and very high numbers of sexual partners are factored in, the discrepancy disappears. Prostitution's role in the discrepancy is not readily apparent because men are reluctant to acknowledge that their reported partners include prostitutes.
Related Concept Videos
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Relationship Formation
Sexually Transmitted Infections
Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Factors Influencing Attraction II: Physical Attraction
Amebiasis

