Does First Sex Really “Just Happen?” A Retrospective Exploratory Study of Sexual Debut Among American Adolescents

First sex marks a significant transition for most adolescents, yet teens often report that it was unplanned. Seventy-four college students participated in exploratory focus groups about their first sex. Although initially asked whether their first sex was spontaneous or planned, many participants revealed evidence of forethought or anticipation, signifying a third option, anticipation. This study suggests that the development and timing of sexual health messages should build on the apparent, albeit often unacknowledged, planning and thought that accompany the transition to first sex. Specifically, during the time immediately preceding first sex, young people might be particularly open to such messages.     

The symbiotic roles of action research,lesson study and learning study seen in a social–emotional intervention for males with behavioural needs

ABSTRACT

To help a group of nine adolescent boys with behavioural needs improve their social-emotional skills, the researcher designed and conducted a longitudinal intervention at a public secondary school in British Columbia. In order to complete this task, the researcher drew on the various strengths of action research, lesson study and learning study. Together their distinct attributes acted as an organizational framework and were seen to provide an effective and robust approach to school-based research. The action research component of the study ensured that the intervention had a deep understanding of the problems facing male students with behavioural needs, that stakeholders’ voices were considered in the research and that the personal role of the researcher was acknowledged. Learning study established positive masculinity as the intervention’s primary object of learning; and it helped influence the content and approach of individual sessions. Finally, lesson study’s fluid and collaborative approach to assessment allowed for ongoing guidance and a more comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the study’s results. Although there are similarities between action research, learning and lesson studies, the research discussed in this article demonstrates the efficacy and benefit in allowing their distinctive strengths to be used in conjunction for a longitudinal intervention.     

The challenge of changing drug and sex risk behaviors of runaway and homeless adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To assess HIV-related drug and sex risk behaviors and evaluate factors associated with change in risk behaviors among runaway and homeless adolescents, 244 street youth were recruited from a community drop-in center serving high-risk youth. METHOD: Using a cross-sectional design, approximately half of study participants received training in a peer-based intervention that included principles derived from the health belief model, while the remaining subjects received no intervention. Subjects were interviewed at baseline, immediately following the intervention (for those receiving the training) and 3 months later. Logistic regression and analysis of covariance were used to analyze intervention effects. RESULTS: Compared to youth in the control condition, runaways receiving the intervention significantly increased their knowledge about HIV. Contrary to the health belief model, in multivariate analyses knowledge and greater perceived chance for HIV were associated with high risk behavior. On the other hand, lower concern about HIV infection was also associated with high risk behavior, supporting the health belief model. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the intervention's success in increasing knowledge of HIV and AIDS, the association between knowledge, perceived likelihood of infection and high risk behaviors suggest that, without other alternatives, runaways will maintain their risks. The association noted between lower concern and high risk behaviors underscores the challenge faced in developing effective interventions with this population.     

Social and intellectual dimensions of entrepreneurship

Entrepreneurship is above all the ability to perceive opportunities and to tap resources necessary to exploit them. In defining entrepreneurship as ability, one accentuates the fact that it does not have to be equally distributed among people. It can be both learned and taught. However, it should be learned and taught because what is intended is the development of a special capacity. Not only is the skill to see opportunities (in other words to recognize possibilities unseen by others) developed, but so too is the competence (or power) to tap resources necessary to exploit them. A successful entrepreneur not only needs sufficient skill to recognize emerging future patterns (which is the essence of opportunity detection), but also the aptitude to figure out whether or not and how he or she is able to tap the necessary resources. None of these factors can be absent—neither opportunity nor resources. They should be observed and reflected upon simultaneously.     

OPINION RESEARCH AND THE FALL OF COMMUNISM: POLAND 1981-1990

The first polling organization in Eastern Europe was set upin the late 1950s in Warsaw. It did not happen accidentally;Poland had a long tradition of social research reaching backto the early 1920s. After the Stalinist period of the early1950s these traditions were continued by a new generation ofresearchers. This paper analyzes the development of opinionresearch centers and progress in the area of methodology. Twoproblems, very important for public opinion research in Polandas well as in the other East European countries, are stressedin the article: the complex relations between opinion pollingand political circumstances, and the scientific debates focusedon the reliability and accuracy of the survey findings.