如何提問？

採集既往性生活史有一個主要的目的：
獲得個人性行為和可能的性問題的準確畫面(即準確資訊——譯者注)。

所以，必須以適合約談者的年齡、宗教背景和教育程度的方式採用適當的措辭提問。這也許需要面談者使用俚語、市儈語言或特殊行話。不管怎樣，除非約談的物件是科學家或醫學專業人員，否則，要避免使用純粹的科學或醫學術語。所提問題也必須易懂、精確和不含糊其辭。提問不應該模糊，不應該招致誤解或不應該暗示任何的答案。例如：

• 在一些案例中，可能需要探究家庭背景，而這只有提問準確才能夠成功。錯誤提問：“你與父母關係如何？”回答這個提問的回答可能是：“很好”。或“不好也不壞”，或“一般般”。正確提問：“你與母親的關係如何？”和“你與父親的關係如何？”對這兩個提問的答案可能顯示與母親的關係很好，而與父親的關係很糟，並且這會轉而探討與本案相關的現行問題。
• 瞭解婚內性行為的頻率也許是有特殊意義的。同理，提問必須精確。錯誤提問：“你與妻子一周同床多少次？”答案可能是：“每週七次”。正確提問：“你每週與妻子發生多少次性行為？”回答可能是“兩次”。已婚夫婦通常每晚會同床，但不會每晚總有性行為。(在中國，上述的錯誤提問和正確提問恐怕要倒過來。——譯者注)
• 瞭解男人的同性性接觸也許是有特殊意義的，但是，如果提問暗示有刻板或俗氣則所獲資訊有限。錯誤提問：“你是同性戀嗎？”答案可能是：“不是。”正確提問：“你與另一個男性有性關係嗎？”(在中國，如果這樣直接了當，恐怕會引起抵觸情緒。所以，如何提問，還值得探究。——譯者注)回答可能是：“有。”許多男人與其他男人在各種各樣的情形下有性關係，然而並不會認為自己是同性戀者。

How to ask the questions?

Taking a sex history has one principal objective:
To obtain an accurate picture of the person's sexual behavior and possible sexual problems.

Therefore, the questions must be phrased in a way appropriate to the person's age, ethnic background, and educational level. This may require the interviewer to use slang, street language or a particular jargon. In any case, purely scientific or medical terms are to be avoided, unless one is talking to a scientist or medical professional. The questions must also be easy to understand, precise, and unambiguous. They should not be too vague, invite misunderstanding or suggest any particular answer. Examples:

• In some cases it may be necessary to explore the family background, but this will be successful only if the questions are precise. Wrong: "How was the relationship with your parents?" The answer to this question may be: "OK." or  "So-so", or "Average." Right: "How was the relationship with your mother?" and "How was the relationship with your father?" The answers to these two questions may reveal that the relationship with the mother was good, but that with the father was very bad, and this may turn out to be relevant to the case.
• It may be important to know the frequency of marital intercourse, but again, the question must be precise. Wrong: "In one week, how often do you sleep with your wife"? The answer may be: "Seven times per week." Right: " How often per week do you have intercourse with your wife?" The answer may be: "Two times". Married couples usually sleep together every night, but do not always have intercourse every night.
• It may be important to know about a man's homosexual contacts, but not much will be learned if the question implies a stereotype. Wrong: "Are you gay?" The answer may be: "No." Right: "Have you ever had sex with another man?" The answer may be: "Yes". Many men have sex with other men in a variety of circumstances while not considering themselves homosexual or gay.