No description available.

Klamydia ökar bland ungdomar och unga vuxna i Sverige. Eftersom infektionen ofta är asymptomatisk och kan leda till infertilitet är det viktigt att de som utsatts för smitta testar sig. Även ett ökat utövande av säkrare sex är viktigt för att stoppa utvecklingen. En litteraturstudie har gjorts för att kartlägga preventionsinsatser som görs inom området sexuell hälsa och ta reda på hur ungdomar och unga vuxna ser på sexualitet, sexuellt riskbeteende och säkrare sex. Nio vetenskapliga artiklar användes för att få en bild av ungdomskultur och sexualitet. Frågan om säkrare sex präglas enligt litteraturen av subjektiva riskbedömningar, traditionella könsnormer, uppbyggd tillit, ojämlik kommunikation och förhandling kring kondomanvändning samt skam och rädsla. När preventionsstrategier och handlingsplaner som används i Sverige ställs mot detta syns det att modernisering och konkretisering av befintliga metoder behövs för att möta dagens generation ungdomar. / "Chlamydia – where did you get that?" About the increase of Chlamydia among adolescents and young adults and prevention strategies. Chlamydia is increasing among adolescents and young adults in Sweden. It is important that they who have been exposed to the infection are tested for STI because the disease can be asymptomatic and lead to infertility. An increased practise of safer sex is also important to stop the current development. A literature study has been conducted to survey health promoting efforts made in the sexual health area and to find out how adolescents and young adults perceive sexuality, sexual risk behaviour, and safer sex. Nine scientific articles were used to create an image of youth culture and sexuality. The question of safer sex is, according to the reviewed literature, characterized by subjective risk assessments, traditional gender roles, constructed trust, unequal communication and negotiation about condom use and also shame and fear. When the health promoting strategies and plans of action in Sweden are put against this, it is clear that modernization and concretization of existing methods are needed to meet today’s adolescent generation.

Sexualitetens historia präglas av en stor ojämlikhet beträffande sexuellt handlingsutrymme mellan kvinnor och män. Med denna studie ämnar vi att utforska eventuella ojämlikheter mellan killar och tjejers sexuella handlingsutrymme i Sverige, världens fjärde mest jämställda land enligt World Economic Forum. Vår studie bygger på två fokusgrupper med totalt 13 deltagare i åldern 16-17 år. Empirin i vår studie har analyserats utifrån ett socialkonstruktivistiskt perspektiv. Vår studie visar att samma handlingar och beteenden som ger killar status som kungar ger tjejer stämplar som horor. Studien påvisar de ideal som råder gällande hur en tjej och hur en kille ska vara. Tjejer förväntas kontrollera sin sexualitet och vara lagom, till skillnad från killar som förväntas ta större plats och få utlopp för sin sexualitet. Det framgår tydligt i vår studie att det finns stora ojämlikheter mellan tjejer och killars sexuella handlingsutrymme, där tjejers utrymme är betydligt mer begränsat än killars. / The human history of sexuality is characterized by vast inequalities regardingsexual maneuver between women and men. With this study, we intend to explorethe potential inequalities between boys and girls' sexual maneuver in Sweden, theworld's fourth most equal country. Our study is based on two focus groups with atotal of 13 participants in the age of 16-17 years old. The empirical data in ourstudy have been analyzed from a social constructivist perspective. Our studyshows that the same actions and behaviours that give boys the status of kingsgives girls rumours of being whores. Our study also demonstrates the ideals thatexists regarding how a girl and how a guy should be. Girls are expected to controltheir sexuality and not be “too much”. Boys on the other hand are expected to takemore space and act out their sexuality. Our study shows that there are greatdisparities between girls' and boys' sexual autonomy, where girls' space is muchmore limited than boys.

Background: Identity construction is the predominant developmental task in adolescence and young adulthood. Disabling hearing loss (HL) exacerbates the psychosocial challenges faced by adolescents and young adults (AYA) in their identity construction. The primary goal of this research study was to describe how AYA with disabling HL feel about and perceive their identity. Further, to understand the aspects underlying identity construction, with a focus on self-perception, navigating disability, social roles and relations, and community assimilation. Methodology: A qualitative interpretive phenomenological approach was adopted. Participants were a purposive sample of 5 Deaf and Hard-of-hearing AYA, aged 15 to 19 years. All participants were enrolled in schools for the deaf in the Western Cape and partook in semi-structured phenomenological conversations, where they narrated detailed accounts of their lived experiences with identity construction. Results: Interpretive phenomenological analysis was used to formulate themes. The superordinate themes of creating a self-concept, belonging, stress and being deaf emerged from participants' narratives. Identity construction occurs concurrently at several levels. At the personal level, deaf AYA create self-conceived ideals of who they are (Creating a self-concept), at relational level identity is nurtured through person-to-person and person-to-group interactions (Belonging). At societal level deaf AYA ascertain their position as individuals within the larger society (Being deaf). Protective factors, enabling factors and barriers that threaten positive identity construction, audiological health, and the psychosocial wellbeing of deaf AYA were identified. Overall, findings from this study indicate that the experience of identity construction for AYA with HL is layered and laden with challenges. Identity formation, albeit portrayed as a process of differentiation, is a balancing act. Identity is self-defined and equally exists in a collective identity with others. Identity construction also subjected participants to stress arising from the emotional burdens of HL, stigmatisation, and resultant psychological effects. Amid unique challenges, deaf AYA consciously developed coping mechanisms, some constructive and others detrimental to their audiological health, all while negotiating their position in the larger society. Conclusion: Study findings appeal to individuals in the caring professions such as audiologists, teachers, educational psychologists, and social workers to understand the nuances of identity construction for the successful transitional care of deaf adolescents moving into adulthood. Counselling needs to be responsive to the needs of deaf AYA, identity domains should be upheld in the provision of person-centered care and possible trajectories for identity crisis should be evaluated when considering school placement. Benefits of group counselling and peer support groups should be explored. There is a need for interventions that curb negative audiological health behaviours through assertiveness training and self-advocacy. The micro implementation of employment equity policies and legislation is critical to ensure the realisation of AYA's prospective identities in the South African workforce. Findings call for the reorientation of audiological rehabilitation and strengthening of interdisciplinary collaboration to meet the psychosocial needs of AYA with disabling HL.

Being prepared for different situations can be decisive for how tangible a crisis becomes. With the security policy transformation that the world is facing, crisis preparedness is becoming an increasingly popular topic. This essay is about young adults' attitudes towards crisis preparedness.The goal of the essay is to understand the individual's reasoning regarding crisis preparedness and how it is affected by different spatial perceptions. This enables new knowledge about how young adults reason and what characteristics spatial perceptions can imply. Spatial perceptions in this study are mainly linked to rural and urban areas. The study is based on previous research and the empirical material has been collected through semi-structured interviews. The results of the study showed that there is some connection between strong crisis preparedness and rural areas. Also, the result showed that young adults' attitude to crisis preparedness is something that they dissociate fromconsidering they don’t believe that anything will affect them, even though they think crisis preparedness is an important subject. According to the analysis, it’s the perspective of responsibility and different spatial perceptions that influenced their reasoning regarding crisis preparedness measures. The conclusion of this study is that rural areas are involuntarily more resilient than an urban area, and that preparedness measures would be more normalized if the topic were raised more often. This may be relevant for responsible authorities, communicative websites or media to enable better communication and knowledge information to individuals. The essay also shows that there is a need for further studies.

The psychosocial implications of chronic illnesses (CIs) are an apparent issue as exemplified through the extensive literature put forth on the matter. However, the primary focus of this literature is typically the aging population, and researchers have given less consideration to the experiences of youth. At this point in their life, young adults are already experiencing self-discovery, pursuing anticipated milestones, and defining one’s worth/purpose, therefore, being diagnosed and living with a CI only complicates these matters. Investigating how CIs impact young adults’ mental health (MH) is imperative when trying to understand the various intersecting forces that influence one’s ability to achieve optimal health and well being. This research explores the psychosocial effect of receiving a CI diagnosis using a qualitative, interpretive phenomenological approach ( Van Menen’s viewpoint) in which 12 semi-structured interviews were conducted with university students. Interviews were recorded and transcribed for thematic analysis. Findings indicate that the onset of CIs among young adults adds/perpetuates various types of psychosocial distress, ultimately impacting one’s MH based on their exposure towards such stressors and ability to cope. Irrespective of individualized experiences, all participants unilaterally echoed the need for MH support post diagnosis. Such a finding warrants evaluation of the existing treatment and management of CIs, suggesting that interventions ought to be more holistically designed to include greater MH support. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Objectives: Few studies examine the influence that different sources of medical information has on human papillomavirus (HPV)–related knowledge. We examined the relationship between the primary source of medical information and knowledge about HPV in young adults aged 18–26 years. Study design: This study used cross-sectional data from the Health Information National Trends Survey. Methods: Respondents (n = 404) self-reported their knowledge about HPV-related diseases and vaccinations and their sources of medical information. Sources of medical information included electronic/print media, family/friends, or a healthcare provider. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to examine the association between the source of information and HPV knowledge. Results: Fifty-six percent of respondents used electronic or print media as their primary source of medical information. A greater proportion of Hispanic (40.0%) and black (36.0%) respondents received medical information from their family/friends than white respondents (20.0%). Respondents who received medical information from family/friends had 4.34 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.14, 8.79), 4.06 (95% CI: 2.05, 8.04), and 2.35 (95% CI: 1.10, 5.04) times higher odds than those who received information from healthcare providers of not knowing that HPV causes cervical cancer, knowing HPV is a sexually transmitted infection, and hearing about the HPV vaccine, respectively. Conclusion: Source of medical information was significantly associated with knowledge of HPV. Receiving medical information from family/friends negatively influenced young adults' HPV knowledge. These findings may guide future interventions to target peer and familial influence on medical decisions.

Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / The purpose of this paper is to explore the factors which promote and/or dissuade America’s youth (thirteen to nineteen) from becoming civically engaged. This is particularly important because currently these young people are one of the fastest growing demographics in America. Like generations before it, this demographic stands to inherit the social and political tasks of the current day as well as those that will unfold over their lifetime. But, because research suggests a large proportion of this group are apathetic to this process we need to know what can be done to cultivate civic mindedness among this demographic so that stakeholders can effectively appeal to this demographic’s sense of civic duty. There are many ways to figure out the communication processes which promote engagement among youth. Yet, probably the best way to accomplish this task is to actually talk with young people about their own experiences and ask them to identify factors, which have promoted and/or dissuaded them from becoming civically engaged. Therefore, this thesis does exactly that. It asks the questions and explores the answers that the youth themselves give regarding their own experiences with civic engagement and the factors that promoted or dissuaded them from becoming engaged. It is also important to note that civic engagement is defined in many ways, but rather than having a priori definition, this study allows the definition to emerge from the data. Finally, the following is a review of the literature pertaining to the factors which tend to promote civic engagement among youth as well as what is absent in promoting or fostering civic mindedness among this demographic.

Gestures have been shown to enhance memory recall for children and adults, but little research has investigated the benefits of gesturing to recall in older adult populations. While theory suggests that older adults may be less embodied, that their cognitive and perceptual processes may be less grounded in their sensorimotor capacities, the literature is unclear on whether or not gesturing is still associated with memory in this population. To test the effect of gesturing on recall we compare 58 younger (20-29 yrs) and 62 older (60-85yrs) adults’ performance on an episodic memory recall task (immediately, and at a 3-week delay) after randomly assigning participants to two conditions (instructed gesture or free gesture). In the free gesture condition participants were allowed to freely gesture while describing 26 3-second-long vignettes. Participants in the instructed gesture condition were additionally asked to provide meaningful gestures while providing descriptions to vignettes. Analyzing observational data from the free gesture conditions, we found that both immediately and at a delay, younger and older adults recalled more of the vignettes that they had spontaneously gestured for than those that they had not gestured for. When looking at the effects of instructing gesture, we found that asking older adults to gesture increased their overall recall of vignettes at a delay when compared to older adults left to freely gesture. The same increase to recall was not found for younger adults. These findings suggest that spontaneous gesturing at encoding is just as significant to episodic memory recall for older adults as it is for younger adults, and that asking older adults to gesture may additionally benefit episodic memory for older adults.

No description available.