The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between four personality styles and two important indications of HIV risk behavior, at intake and 3-month follow-up, among a sample of adolescents participating in court-mandated substance abuse treatment in conjunction with an HIV prevention intervention. This study involved a secondary analysis of data from a NIDA funded project (1R01DA011875-01, R. Malow, PI). Predictor variables included levels of antisocial (unruly), dependent(submissive), avoidant (inhibited), and borderline (borderline tendency) personality styles drawn from scales of the Million Adolescent Clinical Inventory (MACI). Criterion variables included number of sexual partners and percentage of sex acts unprotected, derived from the Risk Behavior Assessment (RBA). A series of hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to test study hypotheses. Analyses controlled for age, ethnicity, education, gender, intervention status, the three personality variables not central to the hypothesis being tested, and baseline values of sexual risk behavior, when relevant. Results from the multiple regression analyses failed to support study hypotheses,indicating that adolescent personality styles were not important predictors of HIV risk behavior. Results are discussed within the context of the relevant literature. Study limitations and recommendations for future research are noted.

Sammanfattning     Författare (Tillnamn, förnamn)                                                                                                                 Årtal                     Unis, Brian                                                                                                       2010              Arbetets titel   Sexuellt riskbeteende och självkänsla hos ungdomar Opublicerad uppsats för magisterexamen.                                                                                                Sidoantal (tot)                 Karlstad: Karlstads universitet. Fakulteten för samhälls- och livsvetenskaper.            Avdelning för samhällsvetenskap Social omsorgsvetenskap                                                                    47                 Examensarbete 15 hp i Magisterprogrammet Hälsofrämjande arbete, folkhälsoarbete och socialt förändringsarbete i lokalsamhället.   Bakgrund: Attityder till sex och sexuellt beteende särskilt hos ungdomar har genomgått stora förändringar de senaste åren med ökning av sexuellt transmitterade infektioner (STI), i synnerhet klamydia i ungdomsgruppen och oönskade graviditeter. Många studier visar att det inte finns något samband, en del studier visar ett svagt samband och några studier visar ett positivt samband mellan självkänsla och sexuellt riskbeteende.   Syftet: Syftet med studien var att beskriva självkänsla och sexuella vanor hos gymnasieungdomar. Ett annat syfte var att undersöka attityder, normer och self-efficacy i relation till ungdomars sexuella beteende.   Metod: Studiens design var en tvärsnittsstudie. Tre mätinstrument har använts för att studera bassjälvkänsla (Basic Self-Esteem Scale, kort version), förtjänad självkänsla (Earning Self-Esteem Scale, kort version) och faktorer som påverkar sexuellt riskbeteenden (Sexual Risk Behaviour Belief and Self-Efficacy scales, SRBBS). Enkäten innehöll även tilläggsfrågor om sexuellt beteende. Ett systematiskt slumpmässigt urval gjordes bland ungdomar mellan 16 och 18 år från två gymnasieskolor i en glesbygds kommun i mellersta Sverige och 139 ungdomar deltog i studien. Enkäterna förmedlades via mentorerna för respektive klass. Svarsfrekvens var 38%.   Resultat: Resultat visar att ungdomarna har en god självkänsla. Killarna har ett signifikant högre värde för bassjälvkänsla medan tjejerna redovisar ett högre signifikant värde för förvärvad självkänsla. Ungdomarna hade en positiv attityd till kondomanvändning men cirka hälften var dåliga i att använda kondom. Attityder till samlag visade på en liberal inställning. En tredjedel av ungdomarna hade inte erfarenhet av samlag. Drygt hälften av dem som hade erfarenhet angav ingen eller en sexpartner de senaste 12 månaderna. Det var ovanligt att ungdomarna använde alkohol i samband med samlag. Det framkom att self-efficacy var god när det gällde att avstå samlag, att kommunicera om kondomanvändning och att köpa och använda kondom. Tjejer hade en signifikant högre self-efficacy i att avstå från samlag än killar.     Nyckelord Självkänsla, sexuellt riskbeteende, adolescens / Abstract     Author (Last name, First name)                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 Year Unis, Brian                                                                                                                                                                                                                                2010 Title Sexuellt riskbeteende och självkänsla hos ungdomar (Sexual risk behavior and Self-Esteem in late adolescence)   Unpublished thesis for the degree Master of Community Care and Public Health                                   Pages (tot) Karlstad: Karlstad University. Faculty of Social and Life Sciences                                                          47 Department of Social Studies                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Background: Attitudes to sex and sexual behaviour especially among young people have gone through great changes in recent years with a rise in the number of sexually transmitted diseases (STD), especially Chlamydia, in the youth group and unwanted pregnancies. Many studies show a negative correlation, some show a weak correlation and some studies show a positive correlation between self-esteem and sexual risk behaviour.   Aim: The aim of the study was to describe self-esteem and sexual behaviour in high school students. Another aim was to investigate attitudes, norms, and self-efficacy in relation to young peoples’ sexual behaviour.   Method: The study’s design was a cross sectional study. Three instruments were used to study basic self-esteem (Basic Self-Esteem Scale, short form), earned self-esteem (Earning Self-Esteem Scale, short form) and factors which affect sexual risk behavior (Sexual Risk Behavior Belief and Self-Efficacy scales, SRBBS). The survey also contained supplementary questions on sexual behavior. A systematic random sample was made among students between 16 and 18 years old from two high schools in a small town in mid-Sweden and 139 students participated in the study. The survey was distributed to the students by their class mentors. The response rate was 38%.   Results: The results show that young people have good self-esteem. The boys have significantly higher scores for basic self-esteem while the girls’ results show significantly higher scores for earned self-esteem. The students had positive attitudes about condom use but around half of them were poor at using condoms. Attitudes about sexual intercourse showed a liberal view. A third of the students did not have any experience of sexual intercourse. A little more than half of those with experience answered that they had no partner or one partner in the last 12 months. It was uncommon that the students used alcohol in combination with sex. The results showed that self-efficacy was good when it came to refusing sex, in communication about condoms, and buying and using condoms. The girls had a significantly higher score for self-efficacy in refusing sex than the boys.     Key words:  Sexual risk behavior, Self-Esteem, Adolescence

abstract: The value of safe sex may be discounted based on contextual factors associated with an opportunity for sex. College students (n = 75) in a within-subjects study selected hypothetical sexual partners from a set of pictures and classified them based on attractiveness and estimated chance of having an STI. In the sexual delay discounting (SDD) task, participants rated their likelihood (0 – 100%) of waiting for some period of time (e.g., 3 hours) to have protected sex with their selected partners, when they could have immediate sex without protection. In the sexual probability discounting (SPD) task, participants rated their likelihood of having protected sex if the opportunity was uncertain (e.g., 50%), when they could have unprotected sex for sure (100%). All participants included in the final analyses were aware of and had a positive attitude towards protection against STIs as they indicated preference for immediate (or certain) protected sex. Results show that participants’ willingness to have safe sex systematically decreased as the delay to and odds against having safe sex increased. However, these discounting patterns were observed only in some partner conditions but not others, showing that preference for delayed (or uncertain) safe sex was altered by perceived attractiveness and STI risk of sexual partners. Moreover, the hyperbolic discounting model provided good to acceptable fit to the delay and probability discounting data in most-wanted and least-STI conditions. Gender differences in devaluation of safe sex were also found. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Psychology 2016

Multi-problem youth undergoing treatment for substance use problems are at high behavioral risk for exposure to sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Specific risk factors include childhood adversities such as maltreatment experiences and subsequent forms of psychopathology. The current study used a person-centered analytical approach to examine how childhood maltreatment experiences were related to patterns of psychiatric symptoms and HIV/STI risk behaviors in a sample of adolescents (N = 408) receiving treatment services. Data were collected in face-to-face interviews at two community-based facilities. Descriptive statistics and Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) were used to (a) classify adolescents into groups based on past year psychiatric symptoms, and (b) examine relations between class membership and forms of childhood maltreatment experiences, as well as past year sexual risk behavior (SRB). LPA results indicated significant heterogeneity in psychiatric symptoms among the participants. The three classes generated via the optimal LPA solution included: (a) a low psychiatric symptoms class, (b) a high alcohol symptoms class and (c) a high internalizing symptoms class. Class membership was associated significantly with adolescents’ self-reported scores for childhood sexual abuse and emotional neglect. ANOVAs documented significant differences in mean scores for multiple indices of SRB indices by class membership, demonstrating differential risk for HIV/STI exposure across classes. The two classes characterized by elevated psychiatric symptom profiles and more severe maltreatment histories were at increased behavioral risk for HIV/STI exposure, compared to the low psychiatric symptoms class. The high internalizing symptoms class reported the highest scores for most of the indices of SRB assessed. The heterogeneity of psychiatric symptom patterns documented in the current study has important implications for HIV/STI prevention programs implemented with multi-problem youth. The results highlight complex relations between childhood maltreatment experiences, psychopathology and multiple forms of health risk behavior among adolescents. The results underscore the importance of further integration between substance abuse treatment and HIV/STI risk reduction efforts to improve morbidity and mortality among vulnerable youth.

Background: HIV/AIDS has been one of the major crises to affect Southern Africa, particularly Botswana where prevalence rates have reached 37.3% of the adult population (2003). Due to the difficult working environment and long periods of separation from their partner, migrant workers have been highly susceptible to HIV infection and one of the main vehicles through which the virus has been transmitted. While much research has been carried out with mine workers, truck drivers, and other migrant groups, few studies have investigated the risk factors of construction workers, which form one of the largest employment groups in Botswana and Southern Africa. The purpose of this study was to determine which factors contributed to construction workers’ engagement in sexual risk behaviours, which have placed them at greater risk of HIV infection. Methods: A cross-sectional analytic study design was used. Structured interviews were carried out with individual migrant workers using a standardised questionnaire. 171 male migrant workers were interviewed, involved in skilled, semi-skilled, and supervisory professions. Interviews took place at three construction sites across Botswana, in the capital city of Gaborone and the rural village of Serowe. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analysis were carried out to determine which contributing factors were significantly associated with respondents’ sexual risk behaviours. Results: Unprotected sex was the most prevalent sexual risk behaviour, practised by 68.1% of construction workers. Significantly more workers engaged in unprotected sex with their long-term partner (70.3%) than with their casual girlfriend (35.1%). The second most common sexual risk behaviour was having multiple sexual partners. 57% of migrant construction workers reported having an extra girlfriend in addition to their long-term partner during the last five years. Transactional sex, involving the exchange of sex and material support, was a key part of most workers’ (76.6%) sexual relations with casual girlfriends. Commercial sex, though, was rarely reported and accounted for only 1.8% of workers. Men having sex with men (MSM) was strongly denied by construction workers, although 9.5% reported its occurrence in the workplace. In the multivariate analysis, migration was one of the most significant factors associated with respondents’ sexual risk behaviours. Compared to those who remained in one location during the last year, workers who migrated between work locations were 3.01 times more likely to have had transactional sex (p=0.013) and 4.42 times more likely to have had an extra girlfriend over the last five years (p=0.005). Workers who were separated from their main partner for a month or more at a time were 3.74 times more likely to have had an extra girlfriend in the last year (p=0.009) and 4.57 times more likely to have had transactional sex in the last five years (p=0.001). Workers who stayed in the construction on-site accommodation when away from home were 3.00 times (p=0.023) more likely to have multiple partners compared to those who stayed in private accommodation, where their partner had more opportunity to visit them. A second major contributing factor was respondents’ gender attitudes, particularly the perception that ‘one woman is not enough to sexually satisfy me as man’. Workers with this attitude were 6.21 times more likely to have currently multiple partners (p<0.001), 9.05 times more likely to have had an extra girlfriend in the last five years (p=0.015), and 3.35 times likely to have had transactional sex (p=0.031). A number of socio-demographic factors were significantly associated with sexual risk behaviours including respondents’ age, number of children, employment position, salary, workplace location, and education level. It is important to note, however, that respondents’ alcohol consumption and level of HIV/AIDS awareness did not significantly influence their sexual risk behaviours. Conclusion: These findings indicate that labour migration plays a central role in determining whether workers engage in sexual risk behaviours. Steps taken by employers to: (i) increase the frequency with which workers can visit their partner, (ii) provide facilities for long-term partners to visit the workplace, and (iii) reduce the frequency with which workers are transferred between sites - could significantly reduce workers’ susceptibility to HIV infection. Alongside migration, though, gender attitudes played a major role, pointing to the need for more education which focuses on gender attitudes and behaviour change rather than solely HIV/AIDS awareness.

This study explores the gender differences in how parents exhibit parenting dimensions (control, monitoring, support and warmth) towards sons and daughters and how those dimensions influence contraceptive use. The data analysis uses the Add Health data and the sample includes 918 adolescents within two-parent homes. This study adds to the existing literature in three ways. First, this study investigates four different parenting dimensions whereas previous research focuses on control and communication. Second, this study looks at how each dimension influences contraceptive use. Third, this study examines how parents exhibit parenting dimensions differently towards sons and daughters and whether each dimension influences contraceptive use differently for sons and daughters. The results reveal three significant findings. First, mothers’ and fathers’ parenting dimensions and the dimensions sons and daughters experience are similar. Second, warmth and support influence contraceptive use among sons and daughters. Third, boys are influenced by parenting dimensions more than girls.

No description available.

<p>Sexual risk behavior among young adults is a serious public health concern; 50% will contract a sexually transmitted infection (STI) before the age of 25. The current study collected self-report personality and sexual history data, as well as neuroimaging, experimental behavioral (e.g., real-time hypothetical sexual decision making data), and self-report sexual arousal data from 120 heterosexual young adults ages 18-26. In addition, longitudinal changes in self-reported sexual behavior were collected from a subset (n = 70) of the participants. The primary aims of the study were (1) to predict differences in self-report sexual behavior and hypothetical sexual decision-making (in response to sexually explicit audio-visual cues) as a function of ventral striatum (VS) and amygdala activity, (2) test whether the association between sexual behavior/decision-making and brain function is moderated by gender, self-reported sexual arousal, and/or trait-level personality factors (i.e., self-control, impulsivity, and sensation seeking) and (3) to examine how the main effects of neural function and interaction effects predict sexual risk behavior over time. Our hypotheses were mostly supported across the sexual behavior and decision-making outcome variables, such that neural risk phenotypes (heightened reward-related ventral striatum activity coupled with decreased threat-related amygdala activity) were associated with greater lifetime sexual partners at baseline measured and over time (longitudinal analyses). Impulsivity moderated the relationship between neural function and self-reported number of sexual partners at baseline and follow up measures, as well as experimental condom use decision-making. Sexual arousal and sensation seeking moderated the relationship between neural function and baseline and follow up self-reports of number of sexual partners. Finally, unique gender differences were observed in the relationship between threat and reward-related neural reactivity and self-reported sexual risk behavior. The results of this study provide initial evidence for the potential role for neurobiological approaches to understanding sexual decision-making and risk behavior. With continued research, establishing biomarkers for sexual risk behavior could help inform the development of novel and more effective individually tailored sexual health prevention and intervention efforts.</p> / Dissertation

Approximately 2.2 million children and adolescents are arrested each year, and these youthful offenders often display serious psychosocial dysfunction across a wide spectrum of areas: family dysfunction, mental health distress, problems with drug use, risky sexual behaviors, and a history of traumatic experiences. Of particular interest, the rate of female adolescent arrest and incarceration has been on the rise over the past several decades, yet female juvenile offenders are understudied compared with their male peers. It is important to identify risk factors that predispose certain female adolescents to criminal behavior to inform future interventions. Given the associations of mental health problems, substance use, trauma, and family dysfunction with crime in adolescent girls, further study is warranted to more clearly understand the links between these psychosocial factors and criminality in adolescents, especially girls. The impacts of mental health disorders, family functioning, risky sexual behavior, trauma, and substance use on juvenile justice involved youths are of great public health and social importance because of the potential to intervene and to prevent criminal behavior in at-risk teens. However, the relationships between these risk factors and the severity of juvenile offending in girls have not been studied adequately. By analyzing data from interviews and follow-up criminal records for almost 500 arrested and detained adolescent girls, we first investigated the associations between concurrent substance use and psychosocial dysfunction in this population. Secondly, we examined which psychosocial domains (i.e., mental health disorders, substance use/abuse, trauma, sexual behavior, and family functioning) were most predictive of recidivism and violent recidivism during adolescence for this group of offending girls. Finally, we studied which psychosocial variables best predicted time to next arrest, thereby determining if psychosocial functioning can also predict the amount of time before a given adolescent reoffends. Our findings indicated that substance use and sexual risk behaviors are the most important psychosocial predictors of poor outcomes in adolescent female juvenile offenders.

Sammanfattning Introduktion: Sexuelt överförbara sjukdomar är ett av de stötsta hoten mot en normal reproduktion och sexuela hälsan, där den mest kända är HIV och AIDS. Empidemilogin i Thailand över de senaste decenierna visar en ökade prevalens av sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar. Den största orsaken till sjukdomar är ett resultat av sexuellt risk beteende och inkonsekvent kondomanvändande. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka sexuelt risk beteende och attityder till kondomanvändande hos thailänska universitetsstuderande i Bangkok. Metod: En deskriptiv tvärnittsstudie med kvantitativ metod användes i studien. Ett frågeformulär med 5 delar delades ut till 300 universitetsstudenter på två olika universitetet i Bangkok, Thailand. 269 deltagare fyllde i enkäten korrekt och 132 av dessa uppfyllde inklusionskriterierna. Resultat: 132 deltagare uppgav att de hade haft samlag. 15 (11.4%) av dessa hade ett lågt riskbeteende, 97 (73.5%) hade ett normalt riskbeteende och 20 (15.2%) hade ett högt riskbeteende. De fanns ingen signifikant skillnad mellan manliga (n=97) och kvinnliga (n=35) deltagare gällande deras sexuella risk beteende (p=0.68) och deras attityd till kondomanvändande (p=0.990). Ett samband mellan variablerna högt sexuellt riskbeteende och negativ attityd till kondomanvändande kunde ses, r=0.326, n= 132, p= 0.00. Slutsats: Majoriteten av universitets studenterna i denna studie hade ett normalt riskbeteende. Attityden till kondomanvändande var till största delen positiv med undantag gällande enstaka frågor. Vidare studier gällande thailänska universitetsstudenter och deras sexuella hälsa är av största vikt för att vidare minska riskbeteendet och sexuellt överförbara sjukdomar i populationen. / Abstract Introduction: One of the largest threats towards normal reproduction and sexual health is sexual transmitted diseases, were the most known is HIV and AIDS. The epidemiology of Thailand shows that over the last two decades several surveys reports an increase in the young adults' STD prevalence. The infections are mostly gained as a result of sexual risk behaviors and inconsistent condom use. AIM: The aim was to investigate sexual risk behavior and attitudes to condom use among Thailand university students in Bangkok. Method: The design used in this study was a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative method. A single five part questionnaire was handed out to 300 students within two different universities in Bangkok, Thailand. 269 participants completed the questionnaire and 132 of them met the inclusion criteria. Result: 132 participants reported having had sexual intercourse. 15 (11.4%) had a low risk behavior, 97 (73.5%) had an average risk behavior and 20 (15.2%) had a high risk behavior. There were no significant difference between male (n=97) and female (n=35) participants regarding sexual risk behavior (p= 0,68) and their attitudes towards condom-use (p= 0.990). A correlation between the two variables high sexual risk behavior and negative attitudes towards condom-use could be seen, r=0.326, n= 132, p= 0.00. Conclusions: The majority of the university students in our study showed an average risk behavior. The attitudes towards condoms were mostly positive with the exceptions of some specific questions. Further studies about Thai university students regarding sexual health is of importance to further decrease the sexual risks and STDs in the population.