Club drug use and unprotected anal intercourse among HIV-seronegative men who have sex with men seeking HIV/STD testing at a local STD clinic in Houston

Objective. To explore (1) the association between "club drug" use and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and (2) the association between binge drug use and UAI among HIV seronegative men who have sex with men (MSM) seeking HIV/STD testing at a local clinic in Houston. ^ Study design. A sub-sample of 297 HIV seronegative MSM from a cross-sectional study of drug and sexual behavior in Houston was conducted in 2006. Patients who were seeking HIV/STD testing at a local MSM-identified STD clinic were recruited for an anonymous computer-assisted interview. Analysis of identified secondary data consisted of self-reported information about demographic characteristics, use of drugs, and sexual behaviors. ^ Results. With new and casual sex partners, there was a strong and statistically significant association between use of "club drugs" and UAI. No association between binge drug use and UAI was evident. Men aware of HIV seropositivity or unaware of the HIV serostatus of their primary partner were less likely to report UAI. ^ Conclusion. These data suggest that in the Houston area, HIV-negative MSM club drug users, particularly multiple drug users, are at higher risk of UAI than comparable MSMs who do not use club drugs. Episode-level data regarding binge use of these and other drugs, and UAI should be collected in future studies to explore their relationship. The 'new partner' category should be added to sex partner types to measure sex and drug use behaviors in future studies.^ Keywords. HIV-negative MSM; club drugs; unprotected anal intercourse; binge drug use. ^

Social scientists don’t say titwank’

Drawing on the textual evidence of a number of referees’ reports, this article maps key differences between the humanities and social sciences approaches to the study of pornography, in order to facilitate better understanding and communication between the areas. 1. Social scientists avoid ‘vulgar’ language to describe sex. Humanities scholars need not do so. 2. Social scientists remain committed to the idea of ‘objectivity’ while humanities scholars reject the idea – although this may be a confusion in language, with the term in the social sciences used to mean something more like ‘falsifiability’. 3. Social science assumes that the primary effects of exposure to pornography must be negative. 4. More generally, social science resists paradigm changes, insisting that all new work agrees with research that has gone before. 5. Social science believes that casual sex and sadomasochism are negative; humanities research need not do so.

Pleasure Consuming Medicine : The Queer Politics of Drugs By Kane Race [Review]

The queer studies field works to deconstruct dominant western discourses which cast gay men as hedonistic partygoers. Concurrently it examines the real social ramifications for some gay men for whom partying, illegal drugs and casual sex is an everyday reality. Another reality of gay male culture is HIV/AIDS and the legal prescribed medicines which accompany these conditions. Pleasure Consuming Medicine: The Queer Politics of Drugs explores these realities and the discourses surrounding them. Exploring the embodiments of illegal and prescription drug users, this book problematises the binary between prescription medicine use, where drug use is configured as a matter of consumer choice, and 'illicit' drug use which is heavily policed and condemned. Returning to the gay community it reviews community approaches to safe sex and drug use, and individual practices, to demonstrate alternative approaches to condemning drug usage.

Pleasure Consuming Medicine : The Queer Politics of Drugs By Kane Race [Review]

The queer studies field works to deconstruct dominant western discourses which cast gay men as hedonistic partygoers. Concurrently it examines the real social ramifications for some gay men for whom partying, illegal drugs and casual sex is an everyday reality. Another reality of gay male culture is HIV/AIDS and the legal prescribed medicines which accompany these conditions. Pleasure Consuming Medicine: The Queer Politics of Drugs explores these realities and the discourses surrounding them. Exploring the embodiments of illegal and prescription drug users, this book problematises the binary between prescription medicine use, where drug use is configured as a matter of consumer choice, and 'illicit' drug use which is heavily policed and condemned. Returning to the gay community it reviews community approaches to safe sex and drug use, and individual practices, to demonstrate alternative approaches to condemning drug usage.

Social networking sites and participatory reluctance: A case study of Gaydar, user resistance and interface rejection

This article conceptualises ‘participatory reluctance’ as a particular orientation to social media that problematises binarised notions of connection and disconnection in social networking sites. It qualitatively examines how the concept has functioned within gay men’s social networking service, Gaydar, among 18- to 28-year-old users of the site in Brisbane, Australia. Participatory reluctance is shown to be a central aspect of the culture of this space, fostered among the studied demographic by the convergence of the growing global push for marriage equality and increasing normalisation of the kinds of gay male identities commonly adopted among this group, with three key factors rooted primarily in Gaydar’s design: (1) young users’ perceptions of the site as a space for procuring casual sex; (2) their perceptions of the imagined user as embodying existing stereotypes of gay masculinity, and; (3) a lack of genuine alternatives in terms of niche digital spaces for gay men’s social networking.

Representações sociais dos estudantes universitários face a uma relação sexual ocasional

Dissertação apresentada à Universidade Fernando Pessoa como parte dos requisitos para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Mestre em Psicologia especialização em Psicologia da Saúde e Intervenção Comunitária.

Diagnóstico citológico e molecular da infecção pelo HPV em mulheres do município de Barcarena, Pará, Norte do Brasil

O HPV (Papilomavírus humano) foi apontado pela OMS (Organização Mundial de Saúde - WHO) como principal fator de risco para o desenvolvimento do câncer de colo uterino, tornando-se assim um importante e gravíssimo problema de saúde pública, especialmente nos países subdesenvolvidos ou em desenvolvimento. A precocidade das atividades sexuais, múltiplos parceiros e sexo casual, o tabagismo, a imunossupressão (por exemplo, na população de pacientes aidéticos), gravidez, doenças sexualmente transmissíveis prévias como herpes e clamídia, além do não cumprimento das medidas já adotadas como prevenção de Doenças Sexualmente Transmissíveis (DST), como por exemplo, o simples uso de preservativos, está reconhecidamente associado à incidência da infecção por HPV. Essa pesquisa teve como objetivo avaliar o desempenho diagnóstico das metodologias de citologia convencional (Exame de Papanicolau) em relação à citologia em base líquida, além de determinar a prevalência dos genótipos 16 e 18 do HPV em mulheres sem efeito citopático compatível com HPV e relacionar a presença de quadros inflamatórios, associados ou não ao HPV, com dados epidemiológicos como idade, escolaridade, condição sociocultural de mulheres provenientes do município de Barcarena – Pará – Brasil. Para tanto, participaram deste estudo, voluntariamente, 50 mulheres atendidas na Unidade de Saúde de Barcarena – Pará, através de campanha para coleta de Exame de Papanicolau como método de prevenção de câncer do colo do útero. Estas mulheres receberam informações referentes a todos os procedimentos realizados pelo corpo de saúde deste estudo e aos resultados desta pesquisa e somente após as voluntárias terem assinado o Termo de Consentimento Livre e Esclarecido, as mesmas foram incluídas para as coletas de amostras. As análises e os resultados dos testes de citologia de base líquida e convencional foram realizados segundo a Classificação de Bethesda e revisados cegamente por dois citopatologistas. Para a análise estatístca foi utilizado o teste exato de Fisher e o "Screening Test" visando determinar a especificidade/ sensibilidade dos métodos, considerando significativo o valor de p ≤ 0,05. Como resultado, observamos que o uso da citologia de base líquida tem demonstrado uma série de vantagens em relação à citologia convencional. No diagnóstico molecular (PCR) foram observadas ocorrências de HPV dos tipos 16 e 18 em 10% das mulheres atendidas. Dentre os casos que apresentaram PCR positivo para os tipos 16 ou 16/18 a maioria das mulheres tinham 27,4 anos de idade em média; com maior escolaridade; que exercem atividades domésticas e rurais; e com ocorrências de co-infecção por agentes infecciosos causadores de outras doenças sexualmente transmissíveis. Os resultados obtidos neste estudo reforçam a importância da manutenção de campanhas gratuitas de prevenção do câncer de colo do útero como uma medida preventiva no combate desta doença, principalmente no Estado do Pará onde, provavelmente, o perfil epidemiológico da doença está associado às grandes distâncias que as mulheres de comunidades ribeirinhas têm que percorrer para realizar este exame de forma gratuita; ao tipo de atividade econômica da região; ao preconceito local ainda existente com o exame; e ao grau de dificuldade de implementação de ações efetivas de retorno das pacientes às consultas médicas após a obtenção do resultado do exame e mesmo o encaminhamento para diagnóstico molecular dos casos positivos para lesões do tipo ASC-H e NIC I, II e III.

Prevalence and vulnerability of homeless people to HIV infection in Sao Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE: To assess the prevalence and vulnerability of homeless people to HIV infection. METHODS: Cross-sectional study conducted with a non-probabilistic sample of 1,405 homeless users of shelters in the city of Sao Paulo, southeastern Brazil, from 2006 to 2007. They were all tested for HIV and a structured questionnaire was applied. Their vulnerability to HIV was determined by the frequency of condom use: those who reported using condoms only occasionally or never were considered the most vulnerable. Multinomial and logistic regression models were used to estimate effect measures and 95% confidence intervals. RESULTS: There was a predominance of males (85.6%), with a mean age of 40.9 years, 72.0% had complete elementary schooling, and 71.5% were non-white. Of all respondents, 15.7% reported being homosexual or bisexual and 62,0% reported having casual sex. The mean number of sexual partners in the last 12 months was 5.4. More than half (55.7%) of the respondents reported lifetime drug use, while 25.7% reported frequent use. Sexually-transmitted disease was reported by 39.6% of the homeless and 38.3% reported always using condoms. The prevalence of HIV infection was 4.9% (17.4% also tested positive for syphilis) and about half of the respondents (55.4%) had access to prevention programs. Higher HIV prevalence was associated with younger age (18-29 years, OR = 4.0 [95% CI 1.54; 10.46]); past history of sexually-transmitted disease (OR = 3.3 [95% CI 1.87; 5.73]); homosexual sex (OR = 3.0 [95% CI 1.28; 6.92]); and syphilis (OR = 2.4 [95% CI 1.13; 4.93]). Increased vulnerability to HIV infection was associated with being female; young; homosexual sex; having few partners or a steady partner; drug and alcohol use; not having access to prevention programs and social support. CONCLUSIONS: The HIV epidemic has a major impact on homeless people reflecting a cycle of exclusion, social vulnerability, and limited access to prevention.

Longitudinal associations between causal sexual relationships and stressful life events in emerging adults

Findings on the consequences of casual sexual relationships (CSR) are inconsistent and range from positive to negative outcomes. The longitudinal association between stressful live events and CSR was investigated in a random sample of 2844 Swiss emerging adults. Cross-lagged panel models with baseline, two- and five-year follow-up data showed that life events predicted more subsequent CSR across emerging adulthood. In contrast, CSR predicted life events only from the first to the second wave. Results suggest that the link between stressful life events and CSR was mainly explained by romantic breakups as stressful life event. Environment-related life events were not substantially associated with casual sexual relationships. Thus, engaging in CSR did not seem to be a general emotion-focused coping strategy in the context of life events nor can the engagement in casual sex be seen as a result of stressful life events affecting general self-regulation.

Without women: Masculinities, gay male sexual culture and sexual behaviors in Miami, Florida

Recent studies have reported alarmingly high rates of HIV infection and risky sexual behaviors among gay men in Miami, Florida. Previous research has suggested that the risky sexual behaviors of many gay men reflect the pursuit of intimacy and love, and that barriers to intimate relationships among gay men may stem from traditional masculinity norms. This dissertation examines the meanings which gay men ascribe to their sexual behaviors, as well as the intersections of those meanings with both traditional masculinity constructions and Miami's gay male sexual culture. ^ The study is based upon participant observation, print media content analysis, surveys and ethnographic interviews of a purposive snowball sample of 30 Cuban American, Puerto Rican, African American and Anglo gay men who reside in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Analysis of research questions was accomplished through grounded theory methods and descriptive and non-parametric statistics, including Pearson chi-square, Fisher's Exact and Mann-Whitney U tests. ^ The study shows that culturally-specified masculinity norms vary in the relative importance ascribed to heterosexual prowess, economic providership and competitiveness. These cultural differences appear important not only to the timing of sexual awareness and to the strength of homosexual stereotyping as effeminacy, but also to men's strategies in coming out as gay. The meanings men attributed to their sexual behaviors were, however, constructed in response to both inherited masculinity norms and the hypermasculine structure of Miami's gay male sexual culture. In addition to providing an ethnographic account of this subculture, the study elaborates men's issues relative to casual sex and committed relationships. Unprotected anal intercourse with casual partners during the previous twelve months was associated with growing up without one's father in the home, having been teased for effeminacy during childhood, being defensive about one's masculinity, not trusting men, having been cheated on by boyfriends, and believing that long-term gay male relationships are problematic. ^ It is concluded that the continuing epidemic of HIV infections among local gay men, as well as the hypermasculine form of the gay sexual subculture itself, are nihilistic symptoms embedded in the masculinist gender structure of the larger society. ^

Morningness-eveningness and sociosexuality: Evening females are less restricted than morning ones

Sociosexual orientation is a construct describing the propensity to engage in casual sex and sexual activity in uncommitted relationships, varying from restricted to unrestricted orientation. The personality profile of people exhibiting unrestricted sociosexuality matches a personality profile related to eveningness. Previous research on sociosexuality and morningness–eveningness is scarce, however, and conducted only with male participants. The present study aimed at testing whether eveningness is related to unrestricted sociosexuality in both genders. Participants were 352 (62.8% female) Poles aged between 17 and 57. They completed the reduced morningness–eveningness Questionnaire and the revised Sociosexual Orientation Inventory, consisting of three facets: behavior, attitude, and desire. The results revealed that females were more restricted than males in all facets of sociosexuality. Moreover, in both genders older age was related to less restricted behavior and attitude. Analyses showed that morningness– eveningness was unrelated to sociosexuality in males, but in females eveningness was linked to less restricted global sociosexuality .Eveningness in females could be regarded as a contributory factor to the instability of romantic relationships and high-risk sexual behaviors.

Longitudinal Incidence Study of Clinically-Relevant HPV and Vaccine-Type HPV in Young Online Female Daters

Thesis (Master's)--University of Washington, 2016-08

Para toda a vida ou por uma só noite? Estudo descritivo sobre as diferenças de género nas atitudes sexuais

Dissertação de Mestrado apresentada ao Instituto Superior de Psicologia Aplicada para obtenção de grau de Mestre na especialidade de Psicologia Clínica.

Poder y placer: ¿cuál es el impacto que la intersecionalidad entre género y clase social tiene sobre las prácticas sexuales? Un estudio comparativo en torno a la infidelidad, sexo casual, uso de lencería, ataduras e inmovilizaciones, piropos, sexo oral, orgías y encuentros con prostitutas en hombres y mujeres en los sectores populares y medio-altos en Bogotá, Colombia.

Este documento explora la relación que existe entre la interseccionalidad y las relaciones de género y clase social en razón de prácticas sexuales tales como la infidelidad, sexo casual, uso de lencería, ataduras e inmovilizaciones, piropos, sexo oral, orgías y encuentros con prostitutas en Bogotá, Colombia.

Sex Differences in Hookup Behavior: a Replication and Examination of Parent-Child Relationship Quality

In the current research, we assessed the impact of parent-child relationships on attitudes toward, and engagement in, hookup behaviors using a sample of 407 college students. Based on prior research, it was hypothesized that heterosexual participants, especially women, who do not perceive themselves as having a strong, close, positive relationship with their opposite-sex parent would be more likely to engage in or attempt to engage in casual sexual behavior (hookups). Also, men were expected to be more satisfied with, and more in agreement with, hookup behavior than women. The results were partially consistent with the hypotheses. Men were more satisfied with and more in agreement with hookup behavior than women. But, opposite sex parent-child relationship quality only affected men’s agreement with the hookup behavior of their peers. Men with lower relationship quality with their mothers agreed more with the hookup behavior of their peers. These results are discussed in relation to prior research on hooking up and prior research on parent-child relationships.