Uso y utilidades clínicas del pletismógrafo en la evaluación de la respuesta sexual masculina: Ejemplificación a partir de tres casos

El pletismógrafo peniano es un instrumento que nos permite medir cambios en el diámetro del pene a partir de la exposición a estímulos elicitadores de la respuesta sexual. A pesar de las demostradas utilidades clínicas y empíricas de este instrumento, su uso todavía no se ha generalizado. Por ello, dedicamos este trabajo a ejemplificar el procedimiento a seguir para su aplicación y algunas de las utilidades clínicas que de él se derivan. Para ello recurriremos al análisis de tres casos clínicos; el primero de ellos, un joven con una elevada frecuencia de actividad sexual y de consumo de cibersexo; el segundo, el caso de un chico que a pesar de identificarse como heterosexual, mantiene relaciones sexuales con personas de su mismo sexo: finalmente, analizaremos el caso de otro chico con rasgos de compulsividad sexual. En los tres casos, la aplicación del pletismógrafo complementa una evaluación clásica de la conducta sexual y supone un elemento crucial en el análisis de cada caso.The penile plethysmograph is an instrument for measuring changes in the diameter of the penis after exposure to stimuli elicitors of sexual response. Despite the demonstrated clinical and empirical utility of this instrument, its use is not yet widespread. For this reason, we dedicate this paper to illustrate the procedure for application and some of its clinical utilities. For this purpose, we analyze three cases; the first case, a young man with a high frequency of sexual activity and consumption of cybersex; the second, the case of a boy who self-identifies as heterosexual but has relations with same sex people; finally, we discuss the case of another boy with sexual compulsivity traits. In all three cases, the penile plethysmograph complements classical assessment of sexual behavior and it’s a crucial element in the analysis of each case.Este trabajo ha sido financiado por el proyecto de investigación del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación (psi2011-27992 / 11 I 384)

Cybersex Addiction: A Study on Spanish College Students

The aim of this study was to determine type and frequency of online sexual practices among Spanish college students, prevalence of risk and pathological cybersex use profiles, and correlates/predictors of this behaviour. Participants were 1,557 males and females between 18 and 25 years old. Results showed that cybersex use is not as frequent as that documented in other Western countries. However, a significant percentage of participants with a risky (9%) or pathological (1.7% in men and 0.1% in women) profile was identified. Finally, we found a set of variables that, in interaction with gender, explains 58% of the variance for cybersex addiction scores

Does emotion regulation in adolescents in residential care mitigate the association between sexual victimization and poor psychological well-being?

Background: Childhood sexual abuse/assault has been linked to mental health problems that affect an individual’s psychological well-being. This study explores the facets of emotional regulation as mediating mechanisms in the relationship between sexual victimization and psychological well-being in adolescents in residential care in Eastern Spain. Furthermore, it examines the role of sex assigned at birth and being unaccompanied asylum seeker children as possible moderators of the mediation model. Methods: A total of 346 adolescents (34.1% girls, 65.9% boys) aged between 11 and 19 years old completed a battery of instruments. Parallel multiple mediation paths were tested to determine whether sexual victimization is associated to psychological well-being across emotional regulation dimensions. Moderated mediation models with sex assigned at birth and the condition of unaccompanied asylum seeker children were tested too. Results: This study demonstrates that high sexual victimization is associated with poor psychological well-being in adolescents in residential care through the lack of emotional clarity, non-acceptance of emotional responses, and limited access to emotional regulation strategies (β = − 0.6, 95%CI = − 1.26, − 0.09; β = − 0.38, 95%CI = − 0.9, 0.002; β = − 0.39, 95%CI = − 0.93, − 0.03, respectively). In addition, the latter indirect effect pathway was significantly moderated by the condition of being unaccompanied asylum seeker children (β = 1.46, 95%CI = 0.28, 2.84). Sex assigned at birth was not shown to be a significant moderator. Conclusions: Identifying which mechanisms of emotional regulation mediate the relationship between sexual victimization and psychological well-being in adolescents in residential care may contribute not only to reducing the psychological distress of these adolescents but also to improving the effectiveness and efficacy of the child welfare system

Construction of a Form for Users of the Child Welfare System Based on the Delphi Method

Professionals in charge of designing individualized plans for children and adolescents in the child welfare system often lack the necessary information, either because it has not been systematically collected or because there are doubts about the reliability of the data obtained. The lack of consensual and validated instruments that gather the necessary information has led to the development of a rigorous and effective form, based on the Delphi methodology, aimed at obtaining an exhaustive knowledge of the characteristics of children and adolescents under the child welfare system. Once a consensus of different specialists approved the hetero-informed form, it was completed by 41 professionals working in residential care facilities for 307 children and adolescents. It consists of 66 items grouped into six dimensions: general information, school/work situation, child welfare system history, family visitation history, biological family information, and experiences of sexual abuse. During its construction and validation, a panel of experts analyzed its format and content during the different phases. Most of the items showed good performance, and professionals highlighted their ease of use and relevance. The method used ensured the content validity of this form. This instrument has proven to be a useful and effective tool for collecting sociodemographic information on children and adolescents in the child welfare system, which may improve their conditions

¿Son los padres unos buenos modelos de conductas de salud para sus hijos pequeños? Un estudio con padres de niños entre 3 y 8 años.

Parental behaviors have shown their influence on the development and wellbeing of their children since early stages. In fact, several epidemiological studies have focused on certain risk behaviors such as unprotected sex, especially among adolescents. Therefore, this study aims to explore the existence of different health behaviors among parents of 350 children under 8 years from Valencia, who were administered the CIACS (Ballester and Gil, 1999). The results show a relevant prevalence of risk behaviors related to the no use of seat-belt, physical inactivity, alcohol or tobacco consumption, oral hygiene or participation in family communication. In this senses, boys and daughters sutter the damage along the most of the ages. Only some statistical differences are revealed in the tobacco consumption by other family members who live together. This situation should be taken into account to design the programs of health education in which parents have to participate.El modelado parental ha mostrado su influencia en el desarrollo y bienestar de los hijos desde fases tempranas. De hecho, muchos estudios epidemiológicos se han centrado en determinadas conductas de riesgo como la sexualidad desprotegida y, sobre todo, en población adolescente. Por ello, este estudio pretende explorar la realización de diversas conductas de salud por parte de 350 padres y madres de menores 8 años de la Comunidad Valenciana, a los que se les administró el CIACS(Ballestery Gil, 1999). Los resultados, arrojan una prevalencia considerable de conductas de riesgo tales como el no uso del cinturón, el sedentarismo, el consumo de alcohol o tabaco, la higiene bucodental o la participación en conversaciones familiares. Perjudicando, de igual modo, tanto a hijos como a hijas, y en la mayoría de las edades analizadas. Solamente aparecen diferencias significativas, según edad, en el consumo de tabaco por parte de otros responsables familiares con los que conviven. Dicha realidad tendrá que ser tenida en cuenta en la elaboración de programas de educación para la salud en los que deberían ser incluidos los responsables familiares

HIV-Risk Index: Development and Validation of a Brief Risk Index for Hispanic Young People

The prevalence of HIV risk behaviors among young people facilitates the spread of HIV, in particular regarding unsafe sex behavior, although this trend is different within this population. For this reason, identifying the riskier young population is required to prevent HIV infection. The main purpose of this study was to develop and validate a risk index to assess the different sexual HIV risk exposure among Hispanic Young people. For this purpose, 9861 Spanish young people were randomly distributed into two groups (derivation and validation group). According to the results, the factor analyses grouped the nine items of the HIV- risk index into two factors (factor 1, direct sexual risk indicators and factor 2, indirect sexual risk indicators) with an equal structure for men and women by a multi-group confirmatory factor analysis. The variance explained was 54.26 %. Moreover, the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient revealed high internal reliability (α = .79) and the convergent validity supported its evidence based on different HIV risk indexes. Therefore, the HIV-risk index seem to be a rigorous and valid measure to estimate HIV risk exposure among young people.The authors acknowledge young people who have participated in our studies during these years, as well as some colleagues who have contributed to them such as Maite Edo, Mª Carmen Guirado, Jose Miguel Bravo, Sandra Gómez and Cristina Cassà. Authors’ Contribution Rafael Ballester-Arnal & María Dolores Gil-Llario contributed to the design of the study, obtaining funding, and study supervision.Rafael Ballester-Arnal, María Dolores Gil-Llario, Jesús Castro-Calvo & Cristina Giménez-García participated in recruiting participants, collecting data, analysis/interpretation of data, and writing of the paper. Funding This study has been associated with different projects funded by Generalitat Valenciana (B2/2001, B3/2002), Fundación para la Investigación y Prevención del Sida en España, FIPSE (Exp. 12436/03; Exp. 36639/07) and Universitat Jaume I/Fundación Bancaja (P1.1 B 2004-18; P1.1 B2006-19)

Behavioral Disorders Prevalence in Pediatrics Primary Care. Region of Valencia, Spain, 2009

Background: Childhood and adolescence mental health needs a proper monitoring. The aim is to estimate behavioral disorders preva- lence in paediatric primary care in the Region of Valencia (Spain) and to describe its distribution according to sex, age and impact areas. Methods: Cross-sectional research. Region of Valencia’s Health Surveillance Network observed along 2009 the behavioral disorders in patients primary health care between 3 and 14 years old. Prevalence and confidence intervals at 95% were calculated. Chi-square test (p<0,05) was calculated to explore the differences in behavioral disorders accor- ding to sex, age and impact areas. Results: Total cases notified were 626. Out of participants 70% were boys. The estimate overall prevalence for the population between 3-14 years old was 351 per 10.000 (IC95%: 330-372), 491(IC95%:456- 525) in boys and 202 (IC95%:179-226) in girls. Hyperactivity was the highest prevalence (85 per 10.000, CI: 74-95). The 7-10 age grup years old had the highest prevalence (428 per 10.000, IC95%:367-489). The impact in the family was 69,4% in boys and 65,9% in girls (p<0,5). Conclusions: The Behavioral Disorders prevalence found in pae- diatrics patients in primary care was important, showed different epide- miologic profile as function of age and sex, and proved the family was the principal impact area.Fundamentos: La salud mental de la infancia y la adolescencia re- quiere una monitorización adecuada. El objetivo de este trabajo es esti- mar la prevalencia de las alteraciones del comportamiento (AC) atendi- das en pediatría de atención primaria en la Comunitat Valenciana (CV) y describir su distribución en función del sexo, la edad y sus áreas de impacto. Métodos: Estudio transversal. La Red Centinela Sanitaria de la CV (34 pediatras) vigiló durante 2009 las AC en sujetos de entre 3 y 14 años, con una cobertura del 4% de la población de referencia. Se calcu- laron las prevalencias e intervalos de confianza al 95%. Se estudiaron las diferencias en las AC en función del sexo, edad y áreas de impacto mediante chi2, con una p<0,05. Resultados: Se notificaron 626 casos, el 70% fueron niños. La es- timación de la prevalencia total de AC para la población valenciana de 3-14 años fue de 351 por 10.000 (IC95%:330-372), 491(IC95%:456-525) en niños y 202(IC95%:179-226) en niñas. El grupo de edad entre los 7- 10 años alcanzó la mayor prevalencia (428 por 10.000) (IC95%:367- 489). La hiperactividad presentó la mayor prevalencia (85 por 10.000, IC:74-95). El impacto en la familia fue 69,4% en niños y 65,9% en ni- ñas (p< 0,5). Conclusiones: Las AC atendidas en pediatría de atención primaria en la CV presentaron una prevalencia importante, con un perfil epide- miológico diferenciado por edad y sexo, siendo la familia el principal entorno sobre el que se observó su impacto

¿Cuáles son los primeros mensajes sobre sexo que enviamos a nuestros hijos?

The family plays a fundamental role in the transmission and learning of gender roles. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore what messages transmitted from parents to their children at early ages of development. Data was collected through 8 of CIACS-1 (Ballester and Gil, 1999) in a sample of 332 parents of children between 4 and 8 years from Valencian Community (Spain). The results indicate that 27,2% held the belief that children should play right things to their sex, 18,1% distributed household by gender and 13,5% believe that masturbation is bad for health. Moreover, less than half of the sample claimed to have spoken with your child about sexual topics. This percentage increases as the children grow older, taking a significant change around 5-6 years. No statistically significant differences were found by gender, so we can consider that the parents in our sample are not differentiated information if boy or girl. In conclusion, it is important to design prevention programs aimed at parents who contribute to the transformation of the stereotypical conceptions.La familia juega un papel fundamental en la transmisión y aprendizaje de los roles de género. Por ello, el objetivo de este trabajo es explorar qué mensajes transmiten los padres a sus hijos en edades tempranas del desarrollo. Se analizan 8 ítems del CIACS-1 (Ballester y Gil, 1999) en una muestrade 332 padres ymadres deniños/as entre 4 y 8 años de la Comunidad Valenciana(España). Los resultados indican que un 27,2% mantiene la creencia de que los niños deben jugara cosas adecuadas a su sexo, un 18,1%reparte las tareas domésticas en función del sexo y un 13,5% cree que masturbarse es malo para la salud. Por otra parte, menos de la mitad de la muestra afirma haber hablado alguna vez con su hijo/a sobre temas sexuales. Este porcentaje aumenta a medida que los hijos/as van creciendo, dando un importante cambio en torno a los 5-6 años. No aparecen diferencias estadísticamente significativas en función del sexo del hijo/a, podemos considerar que los padres/madres de nuestra muestra no dan información diferenciada si es chico o chica. Concluyendo, resulta importante diseñar programas de prevención dirigidos a padres/madres que contribuyan a la transformación de las concepciones estereotipadas

Sexual Behaviors in Male Sex Workers in Spain: Modulating Factors

This study analyzed how the culture of origin, educational level, sexual orientation, and experience of male sex workers may mediate their commercial sexual behaviors. A total of 100 Spanish agency male sex workers were interviewed. Most of them were young men, Latin American, homosexual, and had middle-level education. Our results showed that cultural differences and sexual orientation could influence male sex workers when engaging in sexual behaviors with their clients. Social and health projects with male sex workers may have to take into account sexual myths and taboos related to sexual orientation and cultural differences

Relationship Status as an Influence on Cybersex Activity: Cybersex, Youth, and Steady Partner

The authors focus on the influence of participants’ having or not having a steady partner when reference to cybersex use. Participants were 1,239 young, Spanish individuals who completed the Internet Sex Screening Test. Results showed the influence of being in a relationship on certain consumption dimensions of cybersex; the influence was found to be greater in men than in women. In general, cybersex activity was higher for single participants, although it was also significant for participants with a steady partner. The authors’ findings facilitate the comprehension of the effect of new technologies in intimate human relationships