Sexual risk-taking, socio-sexual biographies and sexual interaction: Elements of the French national survey on sexual behaviour

In contrast with the psychologically based individualistic models of health behaviour in which conduct adopted in response to AIDS risk is seen as an individual decision depending on the processing of information, we postulate that individuals construct their own definition of the risk of HIV transmission by drawing on their socio-sexual lifecourse and the type of sexual relationships in which they are engaged. Data were obtained from a random sample of 4820 people living in France interviewed by telephone between September 1991 and February 1992. This analysis was conducted on a subgroup of 1508 men and 1376 women in sexual relationships of less than five years. Multiple correspondence analysis and logistic regression were performed. Our findings show that the adoption of preventive behaviour is far from depending exclusively on the awareness of risk. Individuals having a diversified sexual experience, who talked about sexuality during their childhood and have personal confidants more often reported having changed their sexual behaviour because of AIDS. Although less likely to select their partner in order to reduce the risk of AIDS, they more often adopt strategies directly linked to sexual interaction such as condom use. Individuals belonging to networks in which condom use is the norm are more likely to use them. Women, for whom stable relationships propitious to the development of emotional closeness carry a high social value, are more likely to rely on uniquely relational strategies in which the adaptation to the risk of infection involves a better knowledge of the partner. Our findings reveal that individuals attach a different degree of risk to their partners depending on whether they occupy a central or peripheral place in their network of sociability. Furthermore, we observed an incompatibility between the preventive and the socio-affective rationale in which condom use is inversely related to the degree of intimacy, regardless of what is known about the partner's serological status. Risk adaptation strategies are thus far from being irrational, but are related to individuals' socio-sexual biography, the logics of gender, social networks and milieux of sociability, and depend ultimately on the context of the relationship. As with other health-related behaviour, coping strategies appear to be the product of a complex interaction of biographical, social and cultural threads. Prevention campaigns based exclusively on the promotion of individual responsibility are thus likely to miss the mark. Copyright (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd

Environnement et déclin de la qualité du sperme. Evolution chez l'étalon au cours des deux dernières décennies

National audienc

Secular sperm trends in stallions between 1981 and 1996

International audienc

Women's life cycle and abortion decision in unintended pregnancies

Objective: To study the impact of sociodemographic, financial, and reproductive factors and of characteristics related to intimate relationships on the decisions of women in different age groups about whether or not to continue an unintended pregnancy. Design: Cross sectional population based survey. Setting: Telephone interview survey between September 2000 and January 2001 in France. From a representative sample (n=14 704) of 18 to 44 year old women, those who in the past five years had an abortion or whose last pregnancy was unintended were oversampled (sampling fraction=100%, n=1034) while the other women were randomly selected (sampling fraction =19%, n=1829). Altogether, 2863 women answered the questionnaire. Participants: All women whose last pregnancy was unintended and ended in induced abortion or birth (n=645). Main results: Factors associated with the abortion decision varied strongly according to age. Younger women's abortion decisions were mainly related to being a student and being single. Wanting to stop childbearing when the desired number of children was achieved best explained the decision to have an abortion among 25 to 34 year old women. Older women chose abortion especially when childbearing did not fit their work situation or when the relationship with the partner was unstable. A high level of education of a woman and her partner increased the likelihood of abortion, especially among young women. Conclusions: The impact of socioeconomic and relationship factors on the decision to have an abortion is not the same at different stages in life, and refers to the social representations and perceptions of what good conditions are for being a mother

Evolution des compétences en lecture, compréhension et orthographe en environnement socioéconomique défavorisé et impact des facteurs cognitifs et comportementaux sur le devenir à deux ans

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of poor reading skills is particularly high among children from low socioeconomic backgrounds, but no longitudinal studies have been conducted so far in France to determine whether poor reading in a socioeconomically challenged population is persistent and warrants preventive action. DESIGN: One hundred and fifty-four children were divided into three groups according to their reading skills: poor, intermediate and typical readers. They were followed over a period of 2 years. Reading levels, spelling and comprehension were assessed by standardized measurement scales in order to determine reading outcome and predictive variables. RESULTS: The reading skills in each group progressed at similar rates, but the differences between the three groups remained relatively constant over the 2 years. The gap between good and poor readers actually increased for the poorest readers. Spelling scores followed a similar pattern and remained weak. Comprehension scores followed a different pattern. Most of the initially poor readers with low comprehension scores almost caught up and reached the level of the typical readers. The best predictive variables of reading and spelling outcome were phonological awareness, rapid naming and attention deficit. The strongest predictive variables for comprehension were IQ, lexical level and attention. CONCLUSIONS: Our results confirm the relative stability of reading measurement across time in poor readers from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Their behavior are similar to the classic dyslexic population. The predictive variables are different depending on whether reading or spelling or comprehension is considered. These results provide a clear agenda for preventive literacy action in children with low socioeconomic levels (SES): phonological decoding and oral language skills in early grades, and screening and treatment of attention disorders