Toward the Prevention of Risky Sexual Behavior Among Latina Youth

Sexual risk-taking among Latina youth has been noted as a critical health concern within the United States. In this chapter. the importance of prevention of risky sexual behavior among Latina youth will be discussed. Current prevalence rates and consequences associated with sexual behavior among Latino/as will be reviewed. along with factors that are relevant to understanding the prevention of sexual activity. Finally. programs that have been developed to prevent risky sexual behavior among Latinas will be reviewed and suggestions for prevention efforts will be presented

How HIV diagnosis and disclosure affect sexual behavior and relationships in Ugandan fishing communities.

In this article we examine how members of fishing communities on the shores of Lake Victoria in Uganda respond to HIV diagnosis in terms of disclosure to sexual partners. We then explore the subsequent changes in sexual behavior and relationships. To access this information, we collected life history data from 78 HIV-positive individuals in five fishing communities. We found that the strength of the sexual relationships shaped how and why individuals disclosed to partners, and that these relationships tended to be stronger when partners shared familial responsibility. Those who perceived their current sexual partnership to be weak sought to conceal their status by maintaining prediagnosis patterns of sexual behavior. The majority of the study's participants rarely changed their sexual behavior following HIV diagnosis, regardless of their relationship's strength. These findings elucidate barriers to disclosure and behavior change, and suggest that a life-course approach might enhance individual-level counseling so that counselors can provide tailored support to individuals regarding disclosure decisions and outcomes

Estimation of sexual behavior in the 18-to-24-years-old Iranian youth based on a crosswise model study

Background: In many countries, negative social attitude towards sensitive issues such as sexual behavior has resulted in false and invalid data concerning this issue.This is an analytical cross-sectional study, in which a total number of 1500 single students from universities of Shahroud City were sampled using a multi stage technique. The students were assured that their information disclosed for the researcher will be treated as private and confidential. The results were analyzed using crosswise model, Crosswise Regression, T-test and Chi-square tests. Findings. It seems that the prevalence of sexual behavior among Iranian youth is 41% (CI = 36-53). Conclusion: Findings showed that estimation sexual relationship in Iranian single youth is high. Thus, devising training models according to the Islamic-Iranian culture is necessary in order to prevent risky sexual behavior. © 2014 Vakilian et al.; licensee BioMed Central Ltd

Gender differences in liking and wanting sex: examining the role of motivational context and implicit versus explicit processing

The present study investigated the specificity of sexual appraisal processes by making a distinction between implicit and explicit appraisals and between the affective (liking) and motivational (wanting) valence of sexual stimuli. These appraisals are assumed to diverge between men and women, depending on the context in which the sexual stimulus is encountered. Using an Implicit Association Test, explicit ratings, and film clips to prime a sexual, romantic or neutral motivational context, we investigated whether liking and wanting of sexual stimuli differed at the implicit and explicit level, differed between men and women, and were differentially sensitive to context manipulations. Results showed that, at the implicit level, women wanted more sex after being primed with romantic mood whereas men showed the least wanting of sex in the romantic condition. At the explicit level, men reported greater liking and wanting of sex than women, independently of context. We also found that women's (self-reported) sexual behavior was best predicted by the incentive salience of sexual stimuli whereas men's sexual behavior was more closely related to the hedonic qualities of sexual stimuli. Results were discussed in relation to an emotion-motivational account of sexual functioning

Unsafe Sex, AIDS, and Development

Much of Africa has been ravaged by the AIDS epidemic. There, heterosexual contact is the primary mode of transmission for the HIV virus. Even when access to condoms is good and their price low, a large fraction of young Africans continue to engage in unprotected sex. In this paper, we propose a simple two period rational model of sexual behavior that has the potential to explain why a large proportion of sexual activity in poor countries maybe unprotected. In the model economy, even when agents are perfectly cognizant of the risk involved in unsafe sexual activity, and fully internalize the effects of their own sexual behavior on their chance of catching the virus, they may rationally choose to engage in such risky behavior. Our results indicate that safe sexual practice is essentially a "normal good" and that development may be key to reducing HIV infectivity.AIDS; rational choice; sexual behavior; safe sex

Perceived susceptibility to negative consequences of risky sexual behavior among college students

Research has shown that college students understand the risks associated with risky sexual behavior, but make up to close to 50% of new STI cases every year. Previous research suggests that lower perceived susceptibility to negative consequences, extroversion, openness, and neuroticism are all related to risky sexual behavior. Three hypotheses are proposed. Hypothesis one proposes that men and women will have significantly different levels of perceived susceptibility. Hypothesis two proposes that perceived susceptibility, extroversion, openness, and neuroticism predict sexual risk taking. Finally, hypothesis three proposes that perceived susceptibility will be negatively correlated with sexual risk taking, whereas extroversion, openness, and neuroticism will be positively correlated with sexual risk taking. Hypothesis one was not supported, hypothesis two was supported, and hypothesis three was only partially supported. Future directions in safe sex education are suggested.Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance ServicesThesis (M.A.

Risky Sexual Behavior and Associated Factors Among High School Students in Gondar City, Northwest Ethiopia

According to World Health Organization (WHO), youth are young people within 15-24 years old. Studies reported that more than half of all new HIV infections occur among people between the ages of 15 and 24 years. Institution based quantitative cross-sectional study was conducted among high school students in Gondar city. Multistage sampling technique was employed to recruit study participants. Data were collected using pretested structured self-administered questionnaire. Data were entered in Epi Info version 7 and analyzed using SPSS version 21. Descriptive statistics were computed to describe important variables in relation to the outcome variable, Binary and multivariable logistic regressions were used to identify independent predictors of the outcome variable. The overall prevalence of risky sexual behavior was 12.8%. Two out of five sexually active respondents ever had unprotected sexual intercourse. Ever used alcohol ((AOR, 3.53 95% CI (1.73-7.19)), had no parental monitor (AOR, 12.21 95% CI (6.55-22.78), ever watched pornographic film (AOR, 2.24 95% CI (1.15-4.35), had no parental discussion on sexual and reproductive health issues (AOR, 2.57 95% CI (1.36-4.85) and peer pressure (AOR,2.50, 95%CI (1.20-5.21), were factors which significantly increases the odds of risky sexual behavior among youth. Risky sexual behavior among high school students in Gondar city administration was very high and worrisome; so that collaborated effort is needed from parents, schools, health facilities and health policy makers to bring healthy sexual behavior among school youth

Associations between religiosity and sexuality in a representative sample of Australian adults

Many studies have examined the influence on sexual attitudes and behavior of religious belief (i.e., religious denomination) or religiosity (e.g., attendance at services, subjective importance of religion). However, few studies have examined the combined effects of religion and religiosity on sexual attitudes and behavior. This study examined such effects in a representative sample of 19,307 Australians aged 16–59 years (response rate, 73.1%). The study compared members of four religious groups (Protestant, Catholic, Buddhist, Muslim) and two levels of frequency of attendance at religious service (less than monthly, at least monthly). Religious participants were compared to their non-religious peers in analyses adjusted for potential confounding by demographic variables. The outcomes were five sexual behaviors and five corresponding measures of sexual attitudes. The study revealed inconsistent patterns of association between religion/religiosity and a range of sexual behaviors and attitudes. In general, greater attendance at religious services was associated with more conservative patterns of behavior and attitudes. However, religious people who attended services infrequently were more similar to their non-religious peers than their more religious peers. The results of this study highlight the importance of considering not only religion or religiosity, but the intersection between these two variables

Clustering of sex and substance use behaviours in adolescence

BACKGROUND Adolescents often experiment with substance use and sexual activity, which can impact upon their health and well-being, and establish harmful patterns of behavior which continue into adulthood. While substance use and participation in sexual behaviors often co-occur, few studies have examined whether these behaviors cluster in adolescence. OBJECTIVE To investigate clustering of sexual activity and substance use among youth in Northern Ireland. METHOD Data from 875 young people (aged 16) who participated in the 2008 Northern Ireland Life and Times Survey were used to investigate clustering using the Odds/Expected ratio method. Gender differences in clustering were explored. RESULTS Alcohol consumption was the most prevalent risk behavior (75%), followed by cigarette smoking, sexual intercourse, illicit substance use, and solvent use the least prevalent. Over 40% of young people participated in multiple risk behaviors (2 or more). Several behavior combinations were statistically clustered, for most the reported prevalence was lower than expected, however, participation in all five risk behaviors occurred at a much higher rate than expected, particularly for male youth. CONCLUSIONS While experimentation with risky behaviors is often considered developmentally appropriate in adolescence it is important to understand how young people experience these behaviors, and the potential for multiple risk exposures as a result of participation in substance use and sexual behaviors. These findings highlight the clustering of substance use and sexual behaviors, and indicate variations in vulnerability to participation in multiple risk behaviors by gender