Thesis advisor: Alyssa Goldman / This research aims to investigate if the undergraduate Greek life involvement percentage on college campuses can influence the vernacular and phrasing found in sexual harassment policies in universities. A matching approach is utilized to compare schools with similar geographic locations, undergraduate population sizes, religious affiliation and status as a public or private school, who only differ in what percentage of their undergraduate population is involved in Greek life. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2021. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Departmental Honors. / Discipline: Sociology.

Individual factors that might influence the way sexual abuse is defined and perceived within a culture include gender, the extent to which one adheres to and internalizes traditional roles, and levels of acculturation. The underlying assumption in many studies regarding child sexual abuse is that there is a correlation between perception of abuse and abusive behaviour – a positive mind-set towards abuse may lead to abusive behaviour. The aim of this study was to explore what the perception of adolescent males were regarding sexual abuse in order for social workers to have a better understanding of the adolescent male regarding sexual abuse. Interviews were conducted with 20 adolescent males to gain a keener insight into their perception of sexual abuse. From the data received it was found that adolescent males do not have adequate knowledge regarding the broader definition of sexual abuse, and that misconceptions still persist. The respondents‟ main source of information regarding sex and sexual abuse was the school. The sex education focuses mainly on anatomical and physiological information and lacks information on sexual abuse and sexual values. From data received, it was also found that the majority of parents never spoke to the adolescent males about sex; the respondents received no education from their parents concerning sexual abuse. A holistic approach is necessary when educating the adolescent male, which entails a comprehensive sexual education that focuses on sexual abuse, sexual values and preventative behaviour. A holistic approach requires sexual education provided in the home, the school as well as the community. It should consist of an integration of informal and formal education. Other organisations in the community such as NGO‟s, counselling centres and medical support centres should also form part of this holistic approach as they can offer valuable assistance. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Individual factors that might influence the way sexual abuse is defined and perceived within a culture include gender, the extent to which one adheres to and internalizes traditional roles, and levels of acculturation. The underlying assumption in many studies regarding child sexual abuse is that there is a correlation between perception of abuse and abusive behaviour – a positive mind-set towards abuse may lead to abusive behaviour. The aim of this study was to explore what the perception of adolescent males were regarding sexual abuse in order for social workers to have a better understanding of the adolescent male regarding sexual abuse. Interviews were conducted with 20 adolescent males to gain a keener insight into their perception of sexual abuse. From the data received it was found that adolescent males do not have adequate knowledge regarding the broader definition of sexual abuse, and that misconceptions still persist. The respondents‟ main source of information regarding sex and sexual abuse was the school. The sex education focuses mainly on anatomical and physiological information and lacks information on sexual abuse and sexual values. From data received, it was also found that the majority of parents never spoke to the adolescent males about sex; the respondents received no education from their parents concerning sexual abuse. A holistic approach is necessary when educating the adolescent male, which entails a comprehensive sexual education that focuses on sexual abuse, sexual values and preventative behaviour. A holistic approach requires sexual education provided in the home, the school as well as the community. It should consist of an integration of informal and formal education. Other organisations in the community such as NGO‟s, counselling centres and medical support centres should also form part of this holistic approach as they can offer valuable assistance. / MSW (Forensic Practice), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2015

Published Articles / Central University of Technology (CUT) holds awareness campaigns on yearly basis to educate and test students on health related issues. Basic knowledge about the spread of HIV and safe sexual practices has a critical impact on prevention of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other associated diseases such as TB. The problem among students at higher education institutions (HEIs) is that they are a high risk group of contracting HIV infection due to uninformed decisions that they end up making. This study aimed to assess the knowledge and attitudes of CUT students towards HIV, sexual transmitted infections (STIs) and sexuality. A cross sectional survey of 120 randomly selected undergraduate students (73 females, 47 males, aged 18-25 years) was performed. Questionnaires were used to assess the knowledge and attitude of the students towards HIV and AIDS. Generated knowledge and attitude scores from the student responses and gender variable were used to study their association. Students had heard about HIV, and 93% understood that HIV is not curable. Ninety percent of the students were aware of the symptoms of STIs, and some didn't know that STIs are associated with an increased chances of having HIV. Participants were well informed about selected aspects of HIV. A high number of participants were conversant with the modes of spread of HIV and the use of condoms in preventing STIs and HIV infection. The gap of knowledge between males and females, and the way they attend to the testing facility suggests the need for targeting males in the national awareness campaigns. The Medical Center should continue to host and fund health awareness campaigns because they play a major role as source of information.

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Anecdotal observations among clinicians and laypersons suggest that some men who have been sexually abused by men as children experience more homosexual sexual attraction and engage in more homosexual sexual behavior than men who have not been sexually abused. These men often report feeling “confused” about their sexuality. Some men also report believing that there is a relationship between their homosexual feelings and behaviors and their sexual abuse as children. Moreover, research in the area of sexual abuse reveals that disproportionately more men with sexual abuse histories identify as gay and bisexual than men with non-sexual abuse histories, especially when the perpetrator of the abuse was male. However, very few studies have specifically explored the relationship between sexual orientation and sexual abuse. The proposed study will examine the relationship between sexual orientation in men and their reports of childhood sexual abuse by males. Additionally, the proposed study will distinguish between those individuals that have interpreted their childhood sexual experiences as negative (or abusive) and those who have not. Past research in this topic has categorized participants as “abused” based on a set of predetermined benchmarks (e.g., age differential, specific acts performed, etc.,) while not including the individual’s subjective account/interpretation of the experience. This research will consider how the distinction between intergenerational sexual contact that is experienced as abusive and intergenerational sexual contact that is not experienced as abusive relates to sexual orientation and sexual identity. / text

Recent research suggests that, while up to 58% of women may experience significant difficulties with sexual function, only a third of these difficulties are associated with clinically relevant levels of subjective distress, suggesting a complex relationship between these two factors. We have relatively little understanding as to when sexual difficulties are distressing to women and why some difficulties are distressing while others are not. The current project aimed to begin answering these questions in a number of ways. First, I attempted to replicate previous findings regarding moderators of the association between sexual function and subjective distress. Second, I attempted identify the behavioral and cognitive mechanisms through which sexual impairments cause distress. Participants were 87 adult women from the local community who reported recurrent impairments in sexual function in the past month, and who were currently in sexually-active heterosexual relationships. Participants completed in-person diagnostic interviews and validated self-report measures before completing four weeks of daily online questionnaires assessing their sexual and relational experiences. Results provided additional support for previously identified moderators including relational satisfaction, age, and history of childhood sexual abuse. Additionally, a number of factors mediated the association between sexual function and distress within individuals over time. Specifically, a majority of the statistical effect of sexual function on subjective distress was accounted for by the degree to which impaired sexual function decreased the physical pleasure experienced by the individual during sexual activity. Other consequences of impaired sexual function such as decreased frequency of sexual activity and negative emotional reactions by the partner did not mediate this association. These findings add to theories of sexual dysfunction by taking into account the important ways in which sexual impairments play out in the context of romantic relationships. The results also may explain mechanisms through which current treatments for sexual dysfunction decrease sexual distress, potentially improving our ability to focus interventions on the factors that are of greatest importance to patients. / text

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