The role of learned resourcefulness in helping female undergraduates deal with unwanted sexual activity

We examined the relationship between learned resourcefulness skills and the manner in which undergraduate heterosexual women handle unwanted sexual advances/activity. Participants consisted of 150 females completing a set of questionnaires assessing general learned resourcefulness, sexual giving-in experience, sexual resourcefulness, sexual self-efficacy and reasons for consent. The hypothesis that possessing a higher general repertoire of learned resourcefulness skills would uniquely predict greater sexual self-control with unwanted sexual advances was supported. Physical contact with men, greater sexual victimization, more reasons for consenting, and less use of sexual resourcefulness skills all directly contributed to voluntarily giving-in behavior. Implications for sexuality education and counseling are discussed.     

An Exploration of Sexual Health Education Among Individuals with Skeletal Dysplasia (Dwarfism)

Using quantitative and qualitative measures, this study examined reports of sexual health education among 300 individuals with skeletal dysplasia (dwarfism). Many participants felt their sex education neglected their specific minority needs. These needs may include body image concerns, medical considerations in sex or pregnancy, and logistics of physically having sex. Medical professionals may provide more sexual health education than mental health providers, but all may ignore or minimize the sexual health needs of this population. Health care systems and communities of individuals with skeletal dysplasia need to work together to increase their access to sexual health education.     

Learned Resourcefulness Moderates the Relationship Between Academic Stress and Academic Performance

People high in learned resourcefulness are purported to be better than others at controlling their negative emotions and managing stressful tasks. We hypothesised that highly resourceful students would be more effective than others at protecting themselves from the adverse effects of academic stress, and not allowing that stress to impact their grades. A sample of 141 first-year undergraduate students completed measures of academic stress and learned resourcefulness. Their first-year grade point averages were obtained from university records. Analyses revealed that academic stress was negatively associated with academic performance. As expected, this negative association was moderated by learned resourcefulness. High academic stress adversely impacted the grades of low resourceful students but had no effect on high resourceful students. We discuss the implications of these findings for improving academic performance.     

Birth order and parental and sibling involvement in sex education. A nationally-representative analysis

This analysis set out to identify associations between birth order and sexual health outcomes, focusing on family involvement in sex education and early sexual experiences. The third National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles is a stratified probability sample survey of 15 162 men and women aged 16–74 in Britain. Logistic regression was conducted to identify odds ratios for the association between birth order and sexual health outcomes. Multiple logistic regression was performed adjusting for socio-demographic factors and sibling number. Middle-born and last-born men had lower odds of reporting ease talking to parents about sex around age 14 and learning about sex from their mothers. Last-born women had lower odds of reporting a parental main source of sex education or having learned about sex from their mother. Findings represent an exploratory analysis in an under-researched area, and provide the basis for further research on the association between birth order and parental involvement in sex education, as well as the role and impact of sex education provided by older siblings.     

Impact of Learned Resourcefulness and Theories of Intelligence on Academic Achievement of University Students: An integrated approach

This was the first study to integrate Rosenbaum's concept of learned resourcefulness with Dweck's implicit theories of intelligence in predicting university students' academic self‐control behaviour and year‐end grades. Rosenbaum highlights the prominent role that learned resourcefulness skills play in promoting mastery responses and goal attainment during difficult situations. Dweck, on the other hand, describes how students' beliefs about intelligence direct their goal‐setting preferences and correspondent reactions to disappointing performance outcomes. Students completed self‐report measures assessing their learned resourcefulness skills, academic self‐control skills, academic self‐efficacy, theories of intelligence, goal orientation, and attributions for academic failure. Our findings supported the integrated approach to understanding academic goal attainment. Students who reported engaging in academic self‐control behaviours possessed a better‐developed repertoire of general self‐control skills, believed in their academic ability to succeed, applied more effort in response to academic setbacks, valued learning something new in class more than merely getting good grades, and actually obtained higher grades. Theories of intelligence had an indirect association with academic self‐control through ability attributions. Directions for future research are noted.     

The impact of body image and Afrocentric appearance on sexual refusal self-efficacy in early adolescent African American girls

Research examining the association between body image and sexual risk-taking has been mostly limited to clinical and/or White female samples. It is unclear whether body image plays a role in sexual risk-taking among African American early adolescent females. Moreover, research has neglected to consider body image within a cultural and ethnic framework. A positive sense of Afrocentric appearance may influence, either positively or negatively, sexual attitudes and behaviors among African American early adolescent girls. The purpose of this study, conducted with 156 urban African American early adolescent females, was to examine the relationships among body image, Afrocentric appearance, and sexual refusal self-efficacy. Results found no significant association between body image and sexual refusal self-efficacy. However, structural equation modeling found that a positive sense of Afrocentric appearance significantly predicted increased sexual refusal self-efficacy. Implications of this study in regard to culturally-based teenage pregnancy prevention and education initiatives are discussed.     

Latin American immigrant women and intergenerational sex education

People of Latin American descent make up the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the USA. Rates of pregnancy, childbirth, and sexually transmitted infections among people of Latin American descent are higher than among other ethnic groups. This paper builds on research that suggests that among families of Latin American descent, mothers have a particularly strong influence on the sexual attitudes and behaviours of their children, yet that parents of Latin American descent communicate less with their children about sex than parents of other ethnic groups. It examines the messages about sex women received as children in their countries of origin, and how these messages and their views of the USA influence the sexual education women provide for their children. On the basis of data from focus groups, we suggest that, in spite of the persistence of sexual silence, some women's self-reflective analyses of their own sexual education as well as their views of the USA as a sexually more open society contribute to their views of silence as dangerous and trigger more open communication with sons and daughters. Mothers hope to break the cycle of unwanted pregnancy by speaking with daughters about the consequences of menstruation and with sons about contraception.     

Self-defining as sexually abused and adult sexual risk behavior: results from a cross-sectional survey of women attending an STD clinic

Objective

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with increased sexual risk behavior in adulthood, and this association may be mediated by traumagenic dynamics constructs (i.e., traumatic sexualization, trust, guilt, and powerlessness). However, few studies have investigated whether such relationships hold for women who do not identify as having experienced CSA despite meeting objective criteria that CSA occurred. This study sought to determine whether individuals who met research criteria for CSA and who self-defined as sexually abused differed on traumagenic dynamics constructs and current sexual risk behavior from individuals who met research criteria for CSA and who did not self-define as sexually abused.

Methods

Participants were 481 women recruited from a publicly funded STD clinic. Participants completed a computerized survey assessing childhood sexual experiences and adult sexual risk behavior.

Results

Of the total sample, 206 (43%) met research criteria for CSA. Of the women meeting research criteria for CSA, 142 (69%) self-defined as sexually abused. Women who met research criteria for CSA reported more traumatic sexualization, more trust of a partner, more powerlessness, less sexual guilt, more episodes of unprotected sex, more sex partners, and greater likelihood of sex trading, compared to women who did not meet research criteria for CSA. Among women meeting research criteria, those who self-defined as sexually abused did not differ from those who did not self-define on any of the traumagenic dynamics constructs or on current sexual risk behavior, controlling for CSA characteristics.

Conclusions

Individuals who were sexually abused as children by behavioral research criteria are at risk for engaging in sexual risk behavior as adults, regardless of whether or not they perceive the experience to be CSA. Future research is needed to understand how non-definers perceive these childhood sexual experiences.     

Perceived Sex Education and Its Association with Consent Attitudes,Intentions, and Communication

Abstract

A greater understanding of how sexual consent is learned may be important in informing interventions to decrease sexual assault and ensure pleasurable sexual experiences. This study explored the role of quality and quantity of perceived sex education in relation to sexual consent attitudes, intentions, and behavior. Greater perceived sex education was associated with positive attitudes toward consent for all participants and with intentions to obtain consent only for those with fewer years of general education. Interestingly, perceived sex education was unrelated to a test of sexual knowledge. However, objective sexual knowledge was associated with consent attitudes and behaviors.     

Ugandan adolescents’ sources,interpretation and evaluation of sexual content in entertainment media programming

Although mounting evidence in Western nations indicates that entertainment media influence young people’s sexual socialisation, virtually no research has addressed the topic in sub-Saharan Africa. The present study employed 14 focus groups of Ugandan high school students to identify media through which they were exposed to sexual content, how they interpreted and evaluated that content, and how they compared its influence with that of parents, schools and religious institutions. Participants most often mentioned TV, followed by print media and Internet as sources of sexual material. Media were said to present discrepant messages regarding the timing of sexual debut, with international programming urging early sexual debut and local programming described as urging young people to delay sex. Young people spoke of turning to ssengas and kojjas for sexual advice, and a number of boys suggested pornography could also be educational. Both local and international programming was interpreted as conveying views of men as sex driven and women as submissive in sex and relationships. Participants expressed the belief that sexual media content had a negative impact on young people. Most nevertheless assessed these messages as more influential than other sources of sexual socialisation.     

循规蹈矩的“天使”或离经判道的“妖妇”——从《洪堡的礼物》看贝娄的性别政治无意识

学术界对《洪堡的礼物》中的女性形象关注不足,小说中的性别政治隐而不现。贝娄塑造凯丝琳、丹妮丝和莱娜达三位女性形象,折射出男性作家根深蒂固的性别歧视,作者性别政治无意识立场。尽管贝娄对当代社会有深刻的考量,尤其是对种族问题、犹太人的身份认同问题和知识分子的角色问题的研究独辟蹊径,但是作为男权文化的代表,他却不能摆脱根深蒂固的男权思想的束缚。     

Type and severity of child abuse and college students'' lifetime suicidality

Objective: The present study compared reported histories and severity of child sexual abuse, child physical abuse, and both, in college men and women.Method: Four hundred and eighty-six consenting undergraduates completed measures of suicidality, sexual abuse (SA), and physical abuse (PA). Based on their responses, they were categorized into 12 mutually exclusive groups: no PA/no SA (n = 234), moderate PA/no SA (n = 78), severe PA/no SA (n = 34), no PA/mild SA (n = 21), moderate PA/mild SA (n = 12), severe PA/mild SA (n = 5), no PA/moderate SA (n = 20), moderate PA/moderate SA (n = 15), and severe PA/moderate SA (n = 10).Results: Participants who reported both severe sexual and severe physical abuse reported more lifetime suicidality than participants who reported either mild sexual and/or physical abuse. Those who reported sexual abuse involving invasive sexual acts such as rape, and physical abuse involving behaviors that resulted in physical injury to the child, were more suicidal than those who reported less severe abuse. In addition, although combined sexual and physical abuse correlated with increased suicidality, unexpectedly, there was no interaction. Finally, women students endorsed more reasons for living than men and about the same level of suicidal ideas and global suicidality, despite a greater likelihood of having been abused.Conclusions: The absence of an interaction between sexual and physical abuse suggests that this increased suicidality is additive rather than multiplicative. An implication is that college counseling personnel need to be aware of the suicidal risk of women and men students reporting either sexual or physical abuse.     

Gender differences in South African men and women's access to and evaluation of informal sources of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) information

While much research has documented unsatisfactory sexual and reproductive health (SRH) awareness among young people in South Africa, understanding of gender differences in access to and evaluation of SRH information is limited. This paper concerned itself with men and women's informal sources and content of SRH, and gendered divergences around accessibility, evaluation, and impact of such information. Fifty sexual history narrative interviews and twenty-five narrative interviews with women were conducted with participants purposively sampled from a range of ages, cultural and racial backgrounds, and in urban and rural sites across five provinces in South Africa. Data were analysed using thematic analysis. While young women were more likely to learn about SRH information from family members, they also reported greater regulation concerning their sexuality. This could enhance stigma surrounding women's sexuality and hinder open communication. Men predominantly learned about sex through pornography and peers, which was reported to encourage sexual prowess to the neglect of practising safer sex. Lack of adequate SRH instruction for young people as revealed through the narratives had significant and often negative implications for men and women's early safer sex behaviours. In response to these insights, recommendations are offered to strengthen informal sources of SRH awareness.     

爱情的琥珀：情爱的生灵——《荆棘鸟》中梅吉与拉尔夫的性爱

人类的性爱问题是我们无法回避的问题。考琳.麦卡洛《荆棘鸟》就直接触及了人类生命中最隐秘的角落——两性交融的性爱。她通过对梅吉与拉尔夫之间性爱历程的描写,探索了人类男女间的性爱,赞叹梅吉与拉尔夫之间的性爱。梅吉和拉尔夫的性爱既有具体的激情,又有抽象的超脱,是激情与超脱的有机结合,是神圣与世俗完美的统一,是情与欲、灵与肉的完美融合和同步共振。     

‘Pervy role-play and such’: girls' experiences of sexual messaging online

Sexting is one of the recurring causes of concern in public discussion of young people and network media. This paper builds on findings from a survey with 1269 Finnish female respondents aged 11–18 conducted using a popular online community for girls on their experiences of and views on online messages concerning sex and sexuality. Sixty-five per cent of respondents had received messages related to sex from either adults or minors while 20% had also sent such messages themselves. The paper asks how girls experience and make sense of sexual messaging and what motivates them to engage in such interactions. Specific attention is paid to the distinction between unwanted and wanted messages. While messages from unknown people identified as adult were often discussed as unpleasant or ‘creepy’, sexual messaging, role-play, cybersex experiments and discussions related to sex among peers were defined as fun and pleasurable. Girls display notable resilience and describe coping strategies connected to unwanted messaging but equally frame sexual messaging and role-play as issues of choice motivated by curiosity and pleasure. The paper addresses sexual messaging as a form of sexual play and learning, and argues for the importance of contextual analysis in understanding its forms and potentialities.     

Sexual behaviour and interest in using a sexual health mobile app to help improve and manage college students' sexual health

Many US college students are reported to engage in risky sexual behaviour. Smartphone applications are a popular way to provide users with information in real time. We explored the potential for mobile technology to be used in promoting the sexual health of college students. Using findings from an online survey among a random sample of 5000 college students (15% response), we examined sexual behaviours and interest in a sexual health application in January 2012. The majority of students were female (73%) and owned a smartphone (74%). Twenty-nine per cent currently used health-related applications on their phone and 67% reported interest in using a free application that could improve/manage their sexual health. Interest in use varied based on gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, having an unintended pregnancy, sexually transmitted infection (STI) testing, smartphone ownership and past application use. The top most useful features for women included a period tracker (46%), birth control reminder (43%) and STI and pregnancy symptom checker (30%). Women were more likely to be interested in using the application compared with men and those engaging in more sexual activity were more likely to be interested as compared with those engaging in less sexual activity. The evaluation of mobile technology to promote healthy sexuality among college students is warranted.     

Investigation of university students’ self-acceptance and learned resourcefulness: a longitudinal study

Self-acceptance and learned resourcefulness of university students are important concepts in coping with the environmental and developmental stressors and in the development of healthy personality. In this study, university students’ self acceptance and learned resourcefulness levels were investigated longitudinally. 198 university students’ self acceptance and learned resourcefulness scores were collected by Self Acceptance Scale and Rosenbaum’s Self-Control Scale in their first and eighth semesters. The findings revealed that in general, the students’ self-acceptance level increased significantly in the 4-year period. With respect to gender, the self-acceptance level of female students was found to increase during their university education, while no significant difference was observed in that of male students. Moreover, there was no change in the level of their learned resourcefulness in the 4-year period in terms of gender. As a result, it is understood that university life includes significant experiences for students’ self-acceptance, especially for female students, and that university life does not cause any significant increase in the level of learned resourcefulness. Therefore, there is a great need for programs that will increase the resourcefulness levels of university students during their university lives.     

Childhood sexual abuse and revictimization in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the link between childhood experiences of sexual abuse and subsequent revictimization in adolescence. METHOD: A sample of 281 female adolescents between 17-20 years of age, who participated in a prevalence survey of unwanted sexual contacts, completed the Sexual Experiences Survey as a measure of unwanted sexual contacts in adolescence and indicated whether or not they had experienced childhood sexual abuse. RESULTS: Childhood experiences of sexual abuse were reported by 8.9% of the respondents, a further 8.5% indicated they were not sure if they had been sexually abused as children. Both abused women and women uncertain about their victimization status were significantly more likely to report unwanted sexual contacts as adolescents than women who did not state abuse. The link between childhood abuse and subsequent victimization was mediated by a higher level of sexual activity among the abuse victims. CONCLUSIONS: The results support existing evidence on the impact of childhood sexual abuse on sexual relationships in subsequent developmental stages and underline the need to consider childhood sexual abuse as a risk factor of adolescent sexual victimization.     

Motives,barriers, and ways of communicating in mother-daughter sexuality communication: a qualitative study of college women in Tanzania

In Tanzania, young women aged 15–24 are at high risk for HIV and nearly half (45%) of women experience pregnancy or childbirth before age 19. The HIV epidemic has motivated many parents to overcome cultural taboos and talk with their children about sexuality, but few studies in Tanzania have examined how young adults perceive these discussions. In-depth interviews with 31 Tanzanian college women (ages 18–25) reveal how they make sense of sexuality messages from mothers that are sometimes vague, admonishing and fear-based. Participants identified how mothers focused on the health, educational and social consequences of premarital sex and emphasised the avoidance of men as a strategy to maintain virginity. Mothers avoided providing specific information about safer-sex practices, or strategies to negotiate romantic relationships, sexual pressures or sexual desires. Findings offer insight into how relational and cultural contexts influence mothers’ sexual socialisation and can inform education and intervention approaches that consider the changing cultural landscape. Future qualitative research with mothers is recommended to develop programmes that are more responsive to mothers’ and daughters’ needs.     

Family History,Gender, and Eating and Body Image Concerns in University Students Seeking Counseling Services

Family history events have been shown to be reliable predictors of eating and body image concerns; however, little is known regarding how family history events compare in a clinical sample, or if these events differ by gender. The current study addresses this paucity, focusing on 3,129 university students seeking clinical services. Having a family member with an eating problem was the most consistent family history predictor across all severity levels. Men and women demonstrated different family history predictors, indicating possible separate pathways to eating or body image concerns based on gender.