Search

The current study aimed to extend existing research concerning HPV vaccination rates, sexual behaviour practices, and risk of HPV-related morbidity and mortality among Canadian university students. A survey research firm recruited an online sample of Canadian university students between 18 and 24 years of age and from across Canada for a study of student sexual health. The current report represents a secondary analysis of responses to this sexual health survey that is focused on HPV morbidity risk. An analysis sample of 1,412 university students responded to an assessment of demographic characteristics, HPV vaccination status (vaccinated or unvaccinated), and recent and lifetime sexual behaviours and condom use. Conservative estimates indicated that approximately one-quarter of university student women, at least two-thirds of university student men, and at least one-third of trans/ non-binary university students had not been vaccinated against HPV. Recent and lifetime sexual behaviours of HPV vaccinated and HPV unvaccinated university students were strikingly similar. HPV unvaccinated status, HPV-risk sexual behaviour, and HPV-related morbidity and mortality risk were very common in this national sample of Canadian university students. Cost-free catch-up HPV vaccination programs for unvaccinated university students are urgently needed to mitigate substantial HPV-related health risks in this population. KEYWORDS: HPV, HPV morbidity risk, HPV vaccine, sexual behaviour, university students, Human papillomavirus (HPV) appears to be the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Canada (Marra et al., 2009; Steben & Gale-Rowe, 2014) and worldwide (Bosch et al., 2012; Bruni [...]

CONTEXT: Previous studies suggest that student athletes may be less likely than nonathletes to engage in sexual behavior. However, few have explored sexual risk behavior among athletes in early adolescence. METHODS: In 2005, a sample of 10,487 students in 26 Los Angeles public middle and high schools completed a self-administered survey that asked about their demographic characteristics, sports participation, sexual behaviors and expectations, and parental relationships. Chi-square analyses compared reported levels of daily participation in sports, experience with intercourse, experience with oral sex and condom use at last intercourse by selected characteristics. Predictors of sexual experience and condom use were assessed in multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: One-third of students reported daily participation in sports. This group had higher odds of ever having had intercourse and ever having had oral sex than their peers who did not play a sport daily (odds ratios, 1.2 and 1.1, respectively). The increases in risk were greater for middle school sports participants than for their high school counterparts (1.5 and 1.6, respectively). Among sexually experienced students, daily sports participants also had elevated odds of reporting condom use at last intercourse (1.4). CONCLUSIONS: Students as young as middle school age who participate in sports daily may have an elevated risk for STDs and pregnancy. Health professionals should counsel middle school athletes about sexual risk reduction, given that young students may find it particularly difficult to obtain contraceptives, STD testing and prevention counseling. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 2010, 42(4):244-250, doi: 10.1363/4224410

This study evaluated the relationship between condom-related protective behavioral strategies (PBS; including those that require active behavior and mental planning) and condom use at both global and event levels. College students (N = 623; 57.8% female) completed self-report measures of condom-related PBS, as well as drinking and sexual behavior. Logistic regression findings indicated that students who reported greater use of condom-related PBS were more likely to discuss their and their partner's HIV status, sexually transmitted infection (STI) history (other than HIV), and protection against STIs (such as HIV and other STIs) the first time they had sex with their most recent vaginal sexual partner. Logistic regression findings also indicated that more frequent use of condom-related PBS was associated with being more likely to use a condom during the most recent vaginal sexual experience. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression results showed that condom-related PBS predicted condom non-users and that condom-related PBS were associated with increased use of condoms during sexual behavior in the previous three months. These results extend prior research by demonstrating that both active and mental planning condom-related PBS are associated with condom use at both the global and event levels, which suggests that condom-related PBS may be useful to incorporate in interventions targeting risky sexual behavior among young adults., Individuals who engage in risky sexual behavior (typically defined as multiple partners, casual partners, unprotected sexual activity, or coinciding risky behavior such as heavy alcohol consumption) are at risk for [...]

The article examines the results from an 18-month follow-up evaluation of an abstinence education curriculum series. Participants were students from 15 school districts recruited to participate in the project. The intervention was the Sex Can Wait curriculum series, consisting of upper elementary, middle school, and high school components. The 5-week curriculum was implemented by teachers who had participated in a special teacher training workshop. Both intervention and comparison students were surveyed before and after the curriculum intervention and at 18-month follow-up. Results indicated short-term effects as follows. Upper elementary intervention students indicated higher level of knowledge, more hopefulness for the future, and greater self-efficacy than did the comparison group. Middle school intervention students did not differ from comparison students. High school intervention students reported lower participation rates than the comparison group students in sexual intercourse (ever and last month), a more positive attitude toward abstinence and a greater intent to remain abstinent. Long-term (18 month) benefits were noted as follows: upper elementary intervention students had greater knowledge and were less likely than comparison students to report participation in sexual intercourse in the last month. Middle school intervention students were less likely than comparison students to report participation in sexual intercourse ever and sexual intercourse in the last month. High school intervention students evidenced greater knowledge and greater intent to remain abstinent than did comparison students. Results indicate that the program did have some positive benefits that should be considered by those interested in abstinence education programming., There has long been controversy in this country about the implementation of school-based sexuality education. (1) In recent years, however, the controversy has centered on abstinence education. Federal involvement in [...]

Conventional explanations--lax gun control laws, media violence, single and working parents--do not adequately explain the recent spate of school shootings, and neither does bullying by itself, an explanation recently gaining more traction. A certain type of bullying, however, is revealed as particularly culpable. Many of the recent shootings share a disturbing component: The perpetrators were repeatedly, even relentlessly, accused by 'preps and jocks' of being gay. Gay harassment is proposed as a point of departure for understanding the causes of school shootings. When boys who believe on some level that they warrant privilege, are instead harassed, they may feel driven to avenge the 'wrong,' and re-assert a more dominant, powerful, and victorious masculinity. These circumstances call for a cultural transformation such that 'boys will be boys' is no longer used as an alibi for violence. The author presents implications for school-based social work practice, teacher and administrator interventions, as well as other prevention strategies. doi: 10.1300/J082v51n04_03 KEYWORDS. School shootings, peer harassment, masculinity, school social work

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2005.08.018 Byline: Andrew Springer, Guy Parcel, Elizabeth Baumler, Michael Ross Keywords: Adolescents; Risk behavior; Social relationships; Gender; El Salvador; Parental support Abstract: An increasing number of studies suggest that supportive social relationships in the family and school may exert a protective effect against a number of youth health risk behaviors. This study examines the association between perceived parental social support and perceived social cohesion at school with selected youth risk behavior outcomes (physical fighting, victimization, suicidal ideation, substance use, and sexual intercourse) among 930 female and male public secondary school students studying in the central region of El Salvador. The study questionnaire comprised closed-ended items of parent/school relationships and risk behaviors based on the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey. In regression analyses, female students who perceived low parental social support were significantly more likely to report engaging in all risk behaviors examined, and female students with perceptions of low school social cohesion were more likely to report suicidal ideation, binge drinking, and drug use. Perceptions of parental social support and school social cohesion held fewer but still significant associations across risk behaviors for male students. Male students who reported low parental social support were significantly more likely to report suicidal ideation, drug use and physical fighting, while male students with low perceived school social cohesion were more likely to report physical fighting but less likely to report binge drinking. This study lends support to the importance of supportive social relationships for understanding youth risk behavior and suggests that supportive families and schools may operate differently for female and male students living in El Salvador. Author Affiliation: Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, University of Texas School of Public Health, 7000 Fannin Street, Suite UCT 2664, Houston, TX 77030, USA

This paper examines the relationship between experiences with unwanted sexual behavior at school and adolescents' health. Adolescent boys and girls (N = 2,808) participated in a 1998/1999 survey of secondary school students in two regions of The Netherlands. The psychological issues investigated included psychosomatic problems and self-esteem. It was hypothesized that adolescents who have experienced unwanted sexual behavior at school would report more psychosomatic problems and lower self-esteem. Furthermore, it was hypothesized that girls would report lower self-esteem and more psychosomatic problems than would boys. Regression analysis indicated that experiences with unwanted sexual behavior were related to adolescents' psychological health, independently of other variables., Previous research suggests that sexual harassment at school can have significant negative effects on adolescents' well-being (Stein, Marshall, & Tropp, 1993; Larkin, 1994). In a study involving grades 7 to [...]

This article reports two studies testing the use of the functional theory of attitudes and arousal of guilt in motivating college students to get tested for genital herpes and chlamydia. Value-expressive appeals to get tested for the benevolent purpose of protecting sexual partners could be effective if that goal is desired by message targets who are sexually active and unaware of their sexually transmitted disease status. The appeals' effectiveness is increased by the arousal of guilt in response to the recognition that failing to get tested is a violation of that value. A model detailing the mediating processes is found to be consistent with the data across two studies. Study 1 found that value-expressive messages tying the importance of getting tested for herpes to the goal of protecting the health of sexual partners is related to increased intentions toward getting tested; being healthy oneself is additional motivation for chlamydia in Study 2. Keywords: attitude function; sexually transmitted disease; guilt; values

I examined attitudinal effects of, and evaluative and cognitive responses to, three types of sexually explicit scenes: egalitarian, sexist, and sexually aggressive. Based on the Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, I hypothesized that the three types of scenes should have different effects on attitudes relevant to sexual equality and sexual aggression. Undergraduate males (N = 115) were assigned either to a control group or to view two scenes representative of one of the three categories, and completed evaluative ratings, thought-listing tasks, and measures of sexual attitudes and beliefs. Type of scene viewed had no effect on attitudes, but participants' evaluative and cognitive reactions were most negative following sexually aggressive scenes and most positive following egalitarian scenes. Although attitude change did not occur, negative reactions to sexist and aggressive scenes may lead to rejection of the implicit, antisocial messages in such portrayals., Concern over possible antisocial effects of exposure to sexually explicit materials has led to two national commissions in the United States and dozens of experimental studies (cf. Davis & Bauserman, [...]

Two hundred and four students (108 college freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors; 96 high school juniors and seniors) participated in this study. The socioeconomic status of the participants (high school = 93% Caucasian, 7% African-American; college = 96% Caucasian, 4% African-American) was primarily in the lower middle-class range. The purposes of this investigation were (1) to test whether or not differences exist between high school and college students' perceptions of one form of male sexually aggressive behavior against women, (2) to determine if differences exist between male and female students' perceptions of such behavior against women, and (3) to explore the sex role socialization theory by providing empirical observation of its basic tenets. Findings suggested that boys may experience slower maturation and development of sensitivity toward sexual aggression than girls, but that this gap may lessen with advancing age for college males.

Using novelistic vignettes, this article calls for the reader's imaginative engagement in a highly-charged situation involving accusations of sexual harassment on our campus. This event made visible not only the contradictions between the traditional humanism grounding higher education and postmodern and feminist challenges to it, but also the dangers of feminist collaboration in liberal humanist projects. We invite readers to reflect on their own allegiances to the various and competing discourses that help structure the academy today as we expose our own shifting subject positions and investments. We aim to call into question the possibility of knowing the 'truth' of this event, even as we self-consciously construct a reading of it in order to displace the 'official' humanistic interpretation given to this situation by the college's president, in favor of one that applies postmodern and feminist insights about discourse, subjectivity, and the power/knowledge nexus to an 'ethnography' of the academy. (sexual harassment, postmodernism, feminism, gender, academia)

The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of sex of offender and type of behavior on faculty perceptions of contrapower sexual harassment. Probability samples of predominately white male and female faculty at two universities in the Midwest were asked to read and make judgments about an incident that might constitute sexual harassment of a faculty member by an opposite-sex student. The effects of offender/student sex, type of harassing behavior, and subject sex were assessed. Some of the results included, as hypothesized, that when the student offender was male, subjects were more likely to: (1) view the incident as harassment, (2) believe the faculty member would be upset, and (3) see the student as responsible, compared to when the student offender was female. Overall, obscene phone calls and explicit verbal-physical harassment were viewed more negatively than written sexual comments and implicit verbal-physical harassment. Female faculty subjects also viewed the incidents as more negative or problematic on several measures than did male faculty.

This study investigated the role of humor, gender, and sexist attitudes toward women in the interpretation of sexist incidents. Thirty female and thirty male university students rated the humorousness of and the reactions to recent sexist incidents as humorous was associated with the tendency to see them as less sexist, to understand the actions and attitudes displayed as more acceptable, and to believe one would have shown approval of the latter. Path analysis indicated that gender did not affect the interpretations of and reactions to these incidents, and that the influence of sexist attitudes toward women was mainly indirect - that is, via their impact on the perception of humorousness.

Three standard questionnaire measures of oral and anal fixation were administered to 142 students. On the basis of their scores 26 students were selected and shown tachistoscopic exposures of pictures designed to activate oral or anal conflicts. Five subjects in each group bad extremely high scores on the corresponding measure of fixation, five had extremely low scores, and 16 had intermediate scores. It was hypothesised that individuals who were fixated at one or other of the psychosexual stages would show stereotyped perceptual distortions to repeated dim exposures of the corresponding picture. Highly fixated subjects showed significantly more deviant responses than did subjects who showed low levels of fixation at the same stage. A form of Q-factor analysis indicated that subjects who were fixated at the oral sadistic or anal stages showed different patterns of perceptual distortions to the anal picture than those who were not fixated. These results were interpreted as supporting the link between defenses against anal eroticism and the anal character.

Many college students engage in high levels of unsafe sexual behavior that puts them at risk for HIV infection. To better understand the dynamics underlying college students' unsafe behavior, focus group discussions were conducted with 308 students (146 men and 162 women). The results showed that, instead of consistently using condoms, many college students use implicit personality theories to judge the riskiness of potential sexual partners. Specifically, partners whom college students know and like are not perceived to be risky, even if what students know about these individuals is irrelevant to HIV status. The students determine the riskiness of partners they do not know well based on superficial characteristics that are also generally unrelated to HIV status Therefore, AIDS prevention interventions for college students must expose the ineffectiveness of the students use of implicit personality theories to determine potential partners' riskiness, and the 'know your partner' safer sex guideline should be abandoned.