The Sexual Victimization Experiences of Men Attending College: A Mixed Methods Investigation

Sex Roles - Emerging research supports that men attending college are at elevated sexual assault risk. However, research is limited by assessment issues as well as a lack of examination of how men...     

Sexual Aspects of Rorschach Administration

The factor structure of the items of the 1962 16PF Form A was examined on a sample of 499 air traffic controllers. It was found that the test does indeed measure the primary factors it purports to measure although several of the factors found did not correspond well with the ideal pattern to be expected with the 16PF on this special, highly selected sample of American males. The results were not as discouraging to the 16PF user as would be indicated by other recent studies which shared certain methodological shortcomings.     

Deception Within Adolescent Sexual Conduct

Deception is presented as a “design to defeat a design” (Thompson 1986, p 64) where one actor purposefully changes the environment with the intention on generating a less adaptive response from another actor. The shared context combined with the indeterminacy of meanings makes deception not only possible, but also an important strategy for adaptation. In this regard not all deception temporarily causes individuals to reorganize their meaning making hierarchy around the changes made by the other party. Different uses of deceptions are explored with regards to adolescent sexual conduct, as their complex and quickly changing representations necessitate social recognition and adaptation.     

Single Parenthood and Adolescent Sexual Outcomes

Research suggests that children of single parents are at heightened risk of precocious sexual behavior, STDs, and other risky sexual outcomes. However, few such studies have addressed the type of single-parent family (single mother or single father), or differences across other-sex parent–child dyads. While gender essentialist models assume differences among youth living only with mothers or with fathers, constructivist models propose more flexible modes of parenting that lead to more similar outcomes. Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (n?=?2570) on youth between the ages of 15 and 19, we compared sexually-related outcomes among adolescents, both boys and girls, who lived with a single mother or a single father. These outcomes include sexual intercourse and knowledge, use of contraception, attitudes toward intimacy and pregnancy, and diagnosis of sexually-transmitted diseases. The results from linear and logistic regression models indicated few differences between single-mother and single-father families, or between same-sex and opposite-sex parent–child matches, using p values of .05 or smaller. Our results called into question essentialist models that posit higher risks for adolescents living with a particular parent or with an opposite-sex parent.     

Persistent versus Periodic Experiences of Social Victimization: Predictors of Adjustment

This study examined self-reports of social victimization and parent reports of adjustment for a sample followed from fourth through seventh grades. Different patterns of social victimization experiences were identified; of the 153 students (79 girls) with complete data, 24% reported chronic social victimization, 23% reported transient experiences of social victimization, and 53% reported being socially victimized at no more than one time point. We examined whether students who experienced persistent and periodic social victimization were at greater risk for internalizing problems than nonvictims. Persistently victimized children demonstrated continuously elevated levels of internalizing problems. Children who were not originally victimized by social aggression but became victimized with time did not demonstrate higher levels of internalizing problems than did nonvictims. Findings were mixed for those who escaped social victimization during this period. This research was supported by NIMH grants R01 MH63076 and K02 MH073616. We are deeply grateful for the participation of children and families in this study and for the cooperation of a local school system that wishes to go unnamed. We thank Mikal Galperin for her help with recruiting and retaining the sample.     

Factors Associated with Peer Sexual Harassment Victimization Among Taiwanese Adolescents

This study examined the individual and interpersonal factors of peer sexual harassment victimization among Taiwanese adolescents. A random sample of 1,376 7th to 9th grade middle school students in Taichung City, Taiwan, completed questionnaires about their demographics, delinquency, peer/teacher interaction, and experience of being sexually harassed by peers. Approximately 25.4% of the respondents had suffered peer sexual harassment during the previous semester. Boys reported more exposure to sexual harassment than did girls. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed separately for boys and girls. Significant risk factors of peer sexual harassment victimization for both genders included being bullied by peers and teacher maltreatment. Boys’ sexual harassment victimization was also associated with their involvement in fights. Peer relationship problems contributed to girls’ sexual harassment victimization. These findings suggested the relevance of a hostile school climate to peer sexual harassment and the gender differences in risk factors.     

Discussing Adolescent Sexual Health in African-American Churches

This study describes the ways in which two African-American churches discuss adolescent sexual health topics. Six focus groups were conducted in two churches in Flint, Michigan, that reported no formal sexual health programming for their congregants. Three themes emerged to highlight the different perspectives about the role of churches in adolescent sexual decision-making and sexual health education: (1) churches as sources of sexual information, (2) churches as complex communities, and (3) recommendations for sexual education in churches. Participant responses suggest that churches can and should serve a resource for sexual health information. Implications for practice and research are discussed.     

Conservatism as a Determinant of Sexual Experiences

An examination of the relationship of conservatism to reports of sexual experiences and reasons for nonparticipation was conducted using 64 male and 50 female introductory psychology students. Conservatism was found to be inversely related to the frequency and variety of sexual behaviors. High conservative subjects gave the reason that it was morally wrong more often than any other reason for not engaging in coital activities and more intimate forms of petting. Results were in accord with previous research and were interpreted as supporting the notion that the fear of loss of control of one's impulses and hence the basis for conservative attitudes are determinants of sexual experiences.     

Interpersonal Violence Victimization and Sexual Harassment: A Prospective Study of Revictimization

This study examined associations between past interpersonal victimization (including both child and adult victimization) and sexual harassment (SH); and it examined intervening and moderating variables of the association of past victimization with SH, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and job-gender context. In addition, we examined an alternative hypothesis for revictimization that abuse survivors are hyper-sensitive to perceptions of sexual harassment. Employed women residing in Kentucky (U.S.) who had received an order of protection from a male partner and who were followed-up 12 months later (n?=?445, 78 % White, mean age?=?31.98, SD?=?8.60) were selected for this analysis. SH experienced between baseline and follow-up interviews was associated with baseline assessments of child nonsexual assault experiences (r?=?0.24, p?<?0.001) and intimate partner violence victimization (r?=?0.20, p?<?0.000), demonstrating a revictimization effect. PTSS mediated the relationship between child sexual assault, child nonsexual assault and subsequent SH. Further, working in a job with a male supervisor or in a male-dominated workgroup increased associations between child nonsexual abuse and subsequent SH. No support was found for the hyper-sensitivity hypothesis. Findings are consistent with prior research that identifies sexual harassment as a form of interpersonal violence that mental health and victim service providers and researchers should include in their assessment and treatment strategies. Employers should also understand that working in male-dominated work environments compound the risk of sexual harassment for those with prior abuse histories and should be vigilant to reducing these risks.     

Sexual Preference,Gender, and Blame Attributions in Adolescent Sexual Assault

ABSTRACT

The study investigated the impact of victim sexual orientation, perpetrator gender, and participant gender on judgements toward a 15-year-old male victim of a depicted sexual assault. One hundred and eight-eight participants (97 male, 91 female) read a hypothetical scenario depicting the sexual assault of a 15-year-old male victim where the victim's sexual orientation and the perpetrator's gender were varied between subjects. Participants then completed a questionnaire assessing their attributions toward both the victim and the perpetrator. Results revealed that male participants blamed the victim more than female participants when the victim was both gay and attacked by a male perpetrator. All participants, regardless of gender, made more positive judgements toward the female as opposed to male perpetrator. Results are discussed in relation to gender role stereotypes and homophobia.     

Breaking the Silence Surrounding Female Adolescent Sexual Desire

Abstract

This review of the literature related to female adolescent sexual desire reveals that, in spite of interest by feminist scholars, actual discourse around sexual desire and bodily pleasure associated with female sexuality appears to be lacking for the majority of adolescent girls. In our culture females are the objects of male desire, hence the focus on attractiveness. Little attention has been paid to their embodiment, the inner sense of their own sexual desire. Sexual desire has traditionally been accepted as part of male sexual development and is associated with positive sexual identity for men. Researchers stress the importance of increasing sex-positive attitudes towards female sexual desire, in order to counter much of the shame and confusion experienced by females, especially during adolescence. The double standard is still being conveyed to young women through popular culture, parents, peers, and schools. Sex education primarily emphasizes the dangers of sex. The media stresses the importance of attractiveness and women as sex objects rather than agents of their own sexual desires. Researchers suggest that a young woman's ability to be conscientious about and fully present in her sexual experiences is correlated with her ability to act as an agent. The ability to make responsible and self-affirming sexual decisions is a crucial act of agency.     

Religiosity and Sexual Involvement Within Adolescent Romantic Couples

The impact of religiosity in adolescent romantic partnerships on sexual behavior was assessed. Data were obtained from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health reciprocated couples database using religious- and relationship-oriented variables to predict sexual involvement in 374 couples (748 participants). We found that individual- and couple-based religiosity impacted sexual behavior. These findings provide evidence for dyad religiosity as a component involved in the expression of sexual behavior in romantic relationships. The current results highlight the importance of incorporating a broad social perspective in order to understand the expression of adolescent sexual behavior.     

Patterns of Sexual Coercion in Adult Heterosexual Relationships: An Exploration of Male Victimization

The sexual coercion of adult males by females in heterosexual relationships has received little empirical attention. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe such relationships — in comparison with relationships involving the sexual coercion of females, of both males and females, and of neither — through analysis of data for 3,032 couples that completed the Preparation for Marriage instrument ( Holman, Busby, & Larson, 1989 ). Current individual and couple characteristics were investigated for male subjects and their partners. The results revealed greater deficiencies in relational resources and commitment in coercive versus noncoercive couples. In addition, gender differences were noted among results for different victim/offender configurations.     

The Impact of Sexual Victimization on Personality: A Longitudinal Study of Gendered Attributes

Little is known about how sexual victimization may affect a woman’s self-reported personality ratings. In the present study endorsement ratings of gendered attributes, as measured by the Extended Personal Attributes Questionnaire, were examined over a 3-year span using multiple group latent growth modeling. Differences in the endorsement of gendered attributes between college female non-victims (N?=?158) and victims (N?=?158) of sexual aggression were tested. Whereas endorsement of communal and positive agentic attributes were stable across time, victims remained consistently less traditionally feminine (i.e., positively communal and nurturing) than non-victims. Victims also appeared to become relatively more self-focused (i.e., negative masculinity) across time than non-victims. This pattern suggests that sexual victimization may have lasting effects on victims’ ability to focus on the nurturing, trusting aspects of relationships; rather they have a preoccupation with their own needs and goals that appears to strengthen with time. Such a pattern sheds insight into how self-processes may contribute to the relationship difficulties often observed in sexual assault victims. Implications of these results for both personality and sexual aggression researchers are discussed.     

Cognitive Mechanisms Underlying Recovered-Memory Experiences of Childhood Sexual Abuse

ABSTRACT— People sometimes report recovering long-forgotten memories of childhood sexual abuse. The memory mechanisms that lead to such reports are not well understood, and the authenticity of recovered memories has often been challenged. We identified two subgroups of people reporting recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse. These subgroups differed dramatically in their cognitive profiles: People who recovered memories of abuse through suggestive therapy exhibited a heightened susceptibility to the construction of false memories, but showed no tendency to underestimate their prior remembering. Conversely, people who recovered memories of abuse spontaneously showed a heightened proneness to forget prior incidences of remembering, but exhibited no increased susceptibility to false memories. This double dissociation points to mechanisms that underlie recovered-memory experiences and indicates that recovered memories may at times be fictitious and may at other times be authentic.     

Childhood ADHD and Executive Functioning: Unique Predictions of Early Adolescent Depression

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Given the increasing prevalence of adolescent depression, identification of its early predictors and elucidation of the mechanisms underlying its...     

Sexual Abuse and Subsequent Risky Sexual Behaviors: A Competency Model for Treatment of Adolescent Females

Sexual abuse is an antecedent to many psychological and behavioral issues that accompany client families when they present for therapy. This article reviews relevant literature regarding sexual abuse in childhood/adolescence as it relates to resultant risky sexual behaviors and their combined impact on individual and family functioning. Treatment guidelines using Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavior Therapy are presented in the context of three key elements of clinical competence: knowledge, awareness, and skills.