Showing papers on "Human sexuality published in 2001"

Adolescent Sexual Orientation and Suicide Risk: Evidence From a National Study

Abstract: Objectives. Sexual orientation has been a debated risk factor for adolescent suicidality over the past 20 years. This study examined the link between sexual orientation and suicidality, using data that are nationally representative and that include other critical youth suicide risk factors. Methods. Data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health were examined. Survey logistic regression was used to control for sample design effects. Results. There is a strong link between adolescent sexual orientation and suicidal thoughts and behaviors. The strong effect of sexual orientation on suicidal thoughts is mediated by critical youth suicide risk factors, including depression, hopelessness, alcohol abuse, recent suicide attempts by a peer or a family member, and experiences of victimization. Conclusions. The findings provide strong evidence that sexual minority youths are more likely than their peers to think about and attempt suicide.

Is There a Gender Difference in Strength of Sex Drive? Theoretical Views, Conceptual Distinctions, and a Review of Relevant Evidence

Abstract: The sex drive refers to the strength of sexual motivation. Across many different studies and measures, men have been shown to have more frequent and more intense sexual desires than women, as reflected in spontaneous thoughts about sex, frequency and variety of sexual fantasies, desired frequency of intercourse, desired number of partners, masturbation, liking for various sexual practices, willingness to forego sex, initiating versus refusing sex, making sacrifices for sex, and other measures. No contrary findings (indicating stronger sexual motivation among women) were found. Hence we conclude that the male sex drive is stronger than the female sex drive. The gender difference in sex drive should not be generalized to other constructs such as sexual or orgasmic capacity, enjoyment of sex, or extrinsically motivated sex.

Emerging Answers: Research Findings on Programs To Reduce Teen Pregnancy.

Abstract: Abstract In 1997, I wrote No Easy Answers: Research Findings on Programs to Reduce Teen Pregnancy for the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. At that time, with only a few exceptions, most studies assessing the impact of programs to reduce teen sexual risk-taking failed either to measure or to find sustained long-term impact on behavior. Now, 4 years later, the research findings are definitely more positive, and there are at least five important reasons to be more optimistic that we can craft programs that help to reduce teen pregnancy. First, teen pregnancy, abortion, and birth rates began to decrease about 1991 and have continued to decline every year since then. Second, larger, more rigorous studies of some sex and HIV education programs have found sustained positive effects on behavior for as long as 3 years. Third, there is now good evidence that one program that combines both sexuality education and youth development (i.e., the Children's Aid Society—Carrera Program) can reduce pregnancies for as long as 3 years. Fourth, both service learning programs (i.e., voluntary community service with group discussions and reflection) and sex and HIV education programs (i.e., Reducing the Risk) have been found to reduce sexual risk-taking or pregnancy in several settings by independent research teams. Fifth, there is emerging evidence that some shorter, more modest clinic interventions involving educational materials coupled with one-on-one counseling may increase contraceptive use. Given the stronger and more consistent research findings demonstrating program effectiveness, this report has been titled Emerging Answers.

Ties that bind.

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper explores how a group of Pakeha women who self-identify as lesbian, gay, or homosexual set about constructing new ways of being Christian, influenced by feminist world-views and an ethos of self-awareness. This construction meshes with new ways of being religious in modern societies, but it also demonstrates how lesbian women have much in common with other women within Christian churches. This paper, therefore, signals the continuing importance of gender as an intervening structure when exploring the relationship between sexuality and religion, specifically, the relationship between being lesbian and being Christian.

Heroines of Sport: The Politics of Difference and Identity

Abstract: Heroines of Sport looks closely at different groups of women whose stories have been excluded from previous accounts of women's sports and female heroism. It focuses on five specific groups of women from different places in the world: Black women in South Africa; Muslim women from the Middle East; Aboriginal women from Australia and Canada; and lesbian and disabled women from different countries worldwide. It also asks searching questions about colonialism and neo-colonialism in the women's international sport movement.The particular groups of women featured in the book reflect the need to look at specific categories of difference relating to class, culture, disability, ethnicity, race, religion and sexual orientation. In her account, Jennifer Hargreaves reveals how the participation of women in sport across the world is tied to their sense of difference and identity. Based on original research each chapter includes material which relates to significant political and cultural developments.Heroines of Sport will be invaluable reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students of sport sociology, and will also be relevant for students working in women's studies and other specialized fields, such as development studies or the politics of Aboriginality, disability, Islam, race and sexuality.

Sexuality, Culture, and Power in HIV/Aids Research

Abstract: ▪ Abstract This article examines the development of anthropological research in response to AIDS. During the first decade of the epidemic, most social science research focused on the behavioral correlates of HIV infection among individuals and failed to examine broader social and cultural factors. By the late 1980s, however, pioneering work by anthropologists began to raise the importance of cultural systems in shaping sexual practices relevant to HIV transmission and prevention. Since the start of the 1990s, this emphasis on cultural analysis has taken shape alongside a growing anthropological research focus on structural factors shaping vulnerability to HIV infection. Work on social inequality and the political economy of HIV and AIDS has been especially important. Much current research seeks to integrate both cultural and structural concerns in providing an alternative to more individualistic behavioral research paradigms.

Gender sexuality and HIV / AIDS: the what the why and the how.

Abstract: It has been known that gender and sexuality are significant factors in the sexual transmission of HIV and that they also influence treatment care and support. However evidence points out that power is fundamental to both sexuality and gender and the unequal power balance in gender relations that favors men translates into an imbalance of power in heterosexual interactions. An understanding of individual sexual behavior male or female thus necessitates an understanding of gender and sexuality as construed by a complex interplay of social cultural and economic forces that determine the distribution of power. In general it is noted that in addition to increasing the vulnerability of women and men to HIV the power imbalance that defines gender relations and sexual interactions also affects womens access to and use of services and treatments. To overcome such barriers several sensitive formative and empowering approaches to gender and sexuality are outlined. This multipronged approach must continue to address the differing needs and concerns of women and men while working on altering the status quo in gender relations in minor and major ways.

Global Identities: Theorizing Transnational Studies of Sexuality

Abstract: In modernity, identities inevitably become global. Indeed, few things remain local in the aftermath of the rise of capitalism. Just as goods and people come to circulate in new ways, so too identities emerge and come into specific relations of circulation and expansion. In this globalized framework of encounter and exchange, sexual identities are similar to other kinds of identities in that they are imbued with power relations. These power relations are connected to inequalities that result from earlier forms of globalization, but they have also generated new asymmetries. Our task is to examine both the specificities and the continuities within the globalization of sexual identities at the present juncture. For the most part, throughout the twentieth century, what we might call politically “progressive” studies of sexuality emerged as a result of identity politics and social movements. Increasingly, with the rise of ethnic and postcolonial studies and the growing emphasis on diaspora in American studies, the scholarship on sexuality is globalized.1 Yet thinking simply about global identities does not begin to get at the complex terrain of sexual politics that is at once national, regional, local, even “cross-cultural” and hybrid. In many works on globalization, the “global” is seen either as a homogenizing influence or as a neocolonial movement of ideas and capital from West to non-West.2 Debates on the nature of global identities have suggested the inadequacy of understanding globalization simply through political economy or through theories of “Western” cultural imperialism and have pushed us to probe further the relationship between globalization and culture.3 Yet how do we understand these emerging identities, given the divergent theories regarding the relationship between globalization and cultural forma-

National Study of Women with Physical Disabilities: Final Report

Abstract: The final report of the National Study on Women with Disabilities provides an overview of the research conducted from 1992 to 1996 at the Center for Research on Women with Disabilities. The report addresses the methodologies used in the recruitment of women and reviews the various analyses conducted on the data. In addition, the report provides a discussion of recruitment techniques used for nondisabled women and the analysis used for this population as well. It provides a summary of findings in the areas of sense of self, relationships, information about sexuality, sexual functioning, pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases, abuse, chronic conditions, health maintenance behaviors, gynecologic health, and health care utilization.

Handbook of the psychology of women and gender

Abstract: PART I: HISTORICAL, THEORETICAL, AND METHODOLOGICAL ISSUES. 1. Women as Subjects, Actors, and Agents in the History of Psychology (R. Unger). 2. Theoretical Perspectives on Women and Gender (S. Wilkinson). 3. Choices and Consequences: Methodological Issues in the Study of Gender (V. Rabinowitz and D. Martin). 4. Women, Psychology, and Evolution (P. Gowaty). 5. Gender Similarities and Differences as Feminist Contradictions (M. Kimball). 6. Framing Gendered Identities (K. Deaux and A. Stewart). PART II: DEVELOPMENTAL ISSUES. 7. Biological Influences on Psychosexual Differentiation (K. Zucker). 8. From Infancy through Middle Childhood: The Role of Cognitive and Social Factors in Becoming Gendered (K. Powlishta, et al.). 9. Adolescent Girlsa Voices: Resonating Resistance in Body and Soul (D. Tolman and L. Brown). 10. Current Perspectives on Womena s Adult Roles: Work, Family, and Life (L. Gilbert and J. Rader). 11. Motherhood and Mothering (A. Woollett and H. Marshall). 12. Older Adult Women: Issues, Resources, and Challenges (S. Canetto). PART III: SOCIAL ROLES AND SOCIAL SYSTEMS. 13. The Psychology of Men and Masculinity: Research Status and Future Directions (G. Good and N. Sherrod). 14. Changing Times, Changing Gender Roles: Who Do We Want Women and Men to Be? (M. Kite). 15. Gender and Language (M. Crawford). 16. Gender and Social Interaction (M. LaFrance). 17. Gender and Relationships (K. Dion and K. Dion). 18. Sexualities (C. Kitzinger). PART IV: GENDER AND PHYSICAL AND MENTAL HEALTH. 19. Gendered Bodies and Physical Health (J. Chrisler). 20. Disorderly Constructs: Feminist Frameworks for Clinical Psychology (J. Marecek). 21. Therapy with Women: Feminist Frameworks (J. Worell and D. Johnson). 22. Sociocultural Issues in Counseling for Women of Color (K. Wyche). PART V: INSTITUTIONS, GENDER, AND POWER. 23. A Developmental Examination of Violence against Girls and Women (J. White, et al.). 24. Power and Gender: The Double--Edged Sword of Ambivalence (S. Goodwin and S. Fiske). 25. Sexual Harassment (B. Gutek and R. Done). 26. Women, Gender, and the Law: Toward a Feminist Rethinking of Responsibility (M. Fine and S. Carney). 27. Changing Society, Changing Women (and Men) (E. Cole, et al.). References. Author Index. Subject Index.

Gender, Nature, and Nurture

Abstract: This engaging text presents the latest scientific findings on gender differences, similarities, and variations--in sexuality, cognitive abilities, occupational preferences, personality, and social behaviors. The impact of nature and nurture on gender is examined from the perspectives of genetics, molecular biology, evolutionary theory, neuroanatomy, sociology, and psychology. The result is a balanced, fair-minded synthesis of diverse points of view. Dr. Lippa's text sympathetically summarizes each side of the nature-nurture debate, and in a witty imagined conversation between a personified "nature" and "nurture," he identifies weaknesses in the arguments offered by both sides. His review defines gender, summarizes research on gender differences, examines the nature of masculinity and femininity, describes theories of gender, and presents a "cascade model," which argues that nature and nurture weave together to form the complex tapestry known as gender.Gender, Nature, and Nurture, Second Edition features:*new research on sex differences in personality, moral thought, coping styles, sexual and antisocial behavior, and psychological adjustment;*the results of a new meta-analysis of sex differences in real-life measures of aggression;*new sections on non-hormonal direct genetic effects on sexual differentiation; hormones and maternal behavior; and on gender, work, and pay; and *expanded accounts of sex differences in children's play and activity levels; social learning theories of gender, and social constructionist views of gender. This lively "primer" is an ideal book for courses on gender studies, the psychology of women, or of men, and gender roles. Its wealth of updated information will stimulate the professional reader, and its accessible style will captivate the student and general reader.

Risk factors for and impact of online sexual solicitation of youth.

Abstract: ContextHealth care professionals, educators, and others are increasingly called upon to advise parents and policymakers about risks posed to children by Internet use. However, little scientific information exists on the experiences of children online.ObjectiveTo assess the risk factors surrounding online sexual solicitations of youth and distress due to solicitation.Design, Setting, and ParticipantsTelephone survey (August 1999–February 2000) of a random sample of 1501 youth aged 10 through 17 years who were regular Internet users.Main Outcome MeasuresDemographic and behavioral characteristics associated with solicitation risk and distress due to solicitation.ResultsNineteen percent of youth who used the Internet regularly were the targets of unwanted sexual solicitation in the last year. Girls (P<.001), older teens (P = .005), troubled youth (P = .004), frequent Internet users (P = .01), chat room participants (P<.001), and those who communicated online with strangers (P<.001) were at greater risk. Twenty-five percent of the solicited youth reported high levels of distress after solicitation incidents. Risk of distress was more common among the younger youth (P = .005), those who received aggressive solicitations (the solicitor attempted or made offline contact) (P = .001), and those who were solicited on a computer away from their home (P = .001).ConclusionsMany young people who use the Internet encounter unwanted sexual overtures. Health care professionals, educators, and parents should be prepared to educate youth about how to respond to online sexual solicitations, including encouraging youth to disclose and report such encounters and to talk about them.

The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior

Abstract: I am introducing the Surgeon General's Call to Action to Promote Sexual Health and Responsible Sexual Behavior because we, as a nation, must address the significant public health challenges regarding the sexual health of our citizens. In recognition of these challenges, promoting responsible sexual behavior is included among the Surgeon General—s public health priorities and is also one of the Healthy People 2010 Ten Leading Health Indicators for the Nation. Although it is important to acknowledge the many positive aspects of sexuality, we also need to understand that there are undesirable consequences as well—alarmingly high levels of sexually transmitted disease and HIV/AIDS infection, unintended pregnancy, abortion, sexual dysfunction, and sexual violence. These challenges can be met, but first we must find common ground and reach consensus on some important problems and their possible solutions. It is necessary to appreciate what sexual health is, that it is connected with both physical and m...

Moral constructions of motherhood in breastfeeding discourse

Abstract: Some of the ways in which the experience of mothering is shaped by the moral and cultural constructions surrounding breastfeeding discourse are examined using a critical deconstruction of recent Canadian health education material. Connections between the understandings surrounding breastfeeding and cultural constructions of nature and sexuality are raised, as is the overlap between breastfeeding discourse and a number of other social discourses including those surrounding child-centered parenting expertise, the remoralization of pregnancy, and the neoliberal preoccupation with individual responsibility and the cost of social programs. Some of the implications that this understanding poses for mothers are examined.

Male Sexual Function and Its Disorders: Physiology, Pathophysiology, Clinical Investigation, and Treatment

Abstract: This review is designed to help the reproductive endocrinologist integrate his or her professional activity with those of other disciplines including urology, radiology, neurology, and psychology in order to successfully manage all of the inseparable aspects of male sexual and reproductive functioning. Significant advances in the field of male sexual physiology and pathophysiology and new methods of investigation and treatment of male sexual disorders are outlined. The review synthesizes available data on the following: norms of sexual organs, aging and sexuality, role of central and peripheral neurochemicals in each stage of the sexual cycle, role of corporeal smooth muscles in the hemodynamic control of erection and detumescence, influence of psychological factors, drugs, and disease on all aspects of sexual functioning, and use of nocturnal penile tumescence monitoring, imaging investigations, and neurophysiologic studies in the diagnostic workup of males with sexual dysfunction. Clinical algorithms are presented where appropriate. Extensive discussions on newly developed strategies in psychological and behavioral counseling, drug therapy, tissue engineering, nonsurgical devices, and surgical treatments for all forms of sexual disorders are also provided. Lastly, the effect of sexual dysfunction and its treatment on quality of life in affected men is addressed, along with recommendations for future research endeavors.

Alcohol, drugs and sexual function: a review.

Abstract: The use of psychoactive substances is popularly believed to loosen sexual inhibitions and contribute to increased sexual activity. However, the actual direct and indirect effects of alcohol and drugs on sexual function are still not fully understood. This article provides a new critical review of the research on the impact on male and female sexual function of psychoactive drugs including alcohol, nicotine, and illicit drugs. The authors consider the effects of both acute and chronic use and review findings from controlled laboratory studies as well as survey and interview research. Research on the impact of substance use and abuse on human sexual function has some limitations due to small and nongeneralizable samples, lack of controlled research design or comparison groups, reliance on self-reported data, or failure to specify or control for dosage effects, expectancies, social effects, and multiple substance use. The lack of controls on physiological, psychological, environmental and cultural factors that could alter the relationship between substance use and sexual function also make it difficult to draw conclusions about direct causal mechanisms. Despite these limitations, this review suggests that chronic alcohol and drug abuse have clear deleterious affects on sexual functioning for many individuals.

The Myth of Asexuality: A Survey of Social and Empirical Evidence

Abstract: Self-advocacy groups and individual authors have increasingly expressed concern that persons with disabilities (PWD) are sexually disenfranchised by a society that inaccurately perceives them as asexual beings. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the social and empirical foundations for the contention that PWD are indeed viewed as asexual and examine whether there is cause for ongoing concern and intervention. This review includes a consideration of the implications for both clinical practice and future research as well. It is concluded that despite significant gains in our biological and psychosocial understanding of sexuality in the context of disability, there remains much to be accomplished to effect needed change in the areas of professional practice, research, societal attitudes, and most importantly, in the lives of PWD.

Sexuality after treatment for early prostate cancer: exploring the meanings of "erectile dysfunction".

Abstract: OBJECTIVE: To explore perceptions of the impact of erectile dysfunction on men who had undergone definitive treatment for early nonmetastatic prostate cancer. DESIGN: Seven focus groups of men with early prostate cancer. The groups were semistructured to explore men’s experiences and quality-of-life concerns associated with prostate cancer and its treatment. SETTING: A staff model health maintenance organization, and a Veterans Affairs medical center. PATIENTS: Forty-eight men who had been treated for early prostate cancer 12 to 24 months previously. RESULTS: Men confirmed the substantial effect of sexual dysfunction on the quality of their lives. Four domains of quality of life related to men’s sexuality were identified: 1) the qualities of sexual intimacy; 2) everyday interactions with women; 3) sexual imagining and fantasy life; and 4) men’s perceptions of their masculinity. Erectile problems were found to affect men in both their intimate and nonintimate lives, including how they saw themselves as sexual beings. CONCLUSIONS: Erectile dysfunction, the most common side effect of treatment for early prostate cancer, has far-reaching effects upon men’s lives. Assessment of quality of life related to sexual dysfunction should address these broad impacts of erectile function on men’s lives. Physicians should consider these effects when advising men regarding treatment options. Physicians caring for patients who have undergone treatment should address these psychosocial issues when counseling men with erectile dysfunction.

Adolescent sexuality: Disentangling the effects of family structure and family context.

Abstract: Growing up in single-parent step- cohabiting or lesbian families has been suggested to have negative effects on adolescent sexual behavior. However the authors analysis reveals that with the exception of girls in single-parent families family structure does not significantly influence adolescents sexual initiation. Rather the family context--more specifically the mother-child relationship their level of interaction and the mothers attitudes toward and discussion of sex--is associated with adolescent sexual debut. When looking at sexually active teenagers neither family structure nor family context have an impact on the sexual partnerships of boys and they explain little in terms of girls sexual partnering. (authors)

Depression and sexual dysfunction

Abstract: Adequate sexual expression is an essential part of many human relationships, and may enhance quality of life and provide a sense of physical, psychological and social well-being. Epidemiological and clinical studies show that depression is associated with impairments of sexual function and satisfaction, even in untreated patients. Most antidepressant drugs have adverse effects on sexual function, but accurate identification of the incidence of treatment-emergent dysfunction has proved troublesome, as disturbances of the sexual response can only be detected in a reliable fashion when systematic enquiries are made before and during the course of treatment. Growing awareness of the adverse effects of many antidepressants on sexual function has led to attempts to resolve dysfunction though adjuvant or substitution treatment approaches. There is a need for further studies of the effects of antidepressants on sexual function.

Effects of a parent-child communications intervention on young adolescents' risk for early onset of sexual intercourse.

Abstract: Context The quality of parent-child communications about sex and sexuality appears to be a strong determinant of adolescents' sexual behavior. Evaluations of interventions aimed at improving such communications can help identify strategies for preventing early onset of sexual behavior. Methods A school-based abstinence-only curriculum was implemented among 351 middle school students, who were randomly assigned to receive either the classroom instruction alone or the classroom instruction enhanced by five homework assignments designed to be completed by the students and their parents. An experimental design involving pretest and posttest surveys was used to assess the relative efficacy of the curriculum delivered with and without the parent-child homework assignments. Results In analyses of covariance controlling for baseline scores, immediately after the intervention, adolescents who received the enhanced curriculum reported greater self-efficacy for refusing high-risk behaviors than did those who received the classroom instruction only (mean scores, 16.8 vs. 15.8). They also reported less intention to have sex before finishing high school (0.4 vs. 0.5), and more frequent parent-child communications about prevention (1.6 vs. 1.0) and sexual consequences (1.6 vs. 1.1). In all significant comparisons, the direction of the findings favored adolescents who received the enhanced curriculum. Dose-response relationships supported the findings. Conclusions Parent-child homework assignments designed to reinforce and support school-based prevention curricula can have an immediate impact on several key determinants of sexual behavior among middle school adolescents.

Sexual Teens, Sexual Media: Investigating Media's Influence on Adolescent Sexuality

Abstract: Contents: J.D. Brown, J.R. Steele, K. Walsh-Childers, Preface. J.D. Brown, J.R. Steele, K. Walsh-Childers, Introduction and Overview. M.J. Sutton, J.D. Brown, K.M. Wilson, J.D. Klein, Shaking the Tree of Knowledge for Forbidden Fruit: Where Adolescents Learn About Sexuality and Contraception. Part I:Television. K.M. Cope-Farrar, D. Kunkel, Sexual Messages in Teens' Favorite Prime-Time Television Programs. B.S. Greenberg, S.W. Smith, Daytime Talk Shows: Up Close and in Your Face. L.M. Ward, B. Gorvine, A. Cytron-Walker, Would That Really Happen? Adolescents' Perceptions of Sexual Relationships According to Prime-Time Television. L.J. Hofschire, B.S. Greenberg, Media's Impact on Adolescents' Body Dissatisfaction. Part II:Magazines. K. Walsh-Childers, A. Gotthoffer, C.R. Lepre, From "Just the Facts" to "Downright Salacious": Teen's and Women's Magazine Coverage of Sex and Sexual Health. D. Treise, A. Gotthoffer, Stuff You Couldn't Ask Your Parents: Teens Talking About Using Magazines for Sex Information. J. Wray, J.R. Steele, Girls in Print: Figuring out What It Means to Be a Girl. Part III:Movies, Music, the Internet. C.J. Pardun, Romancing the Script: Identifying the Romantic Agenda in Top-Grossing Movies. J.R. Steele, Teens and Movies: Something to Do, Plenty to Learn. J.J. Arnett, The Sounds of Sex: Sex in Teens' Music and Music Videos. S. Stern, Sexual Selves on the World Wide Web: Adolescent Girls' Home Pages as Sites of Sexual Self-Expression.