The purpose of this study was to explore specific areas of knowledgeability among counselors regarding selected aspects of human sexuality. An assessment was made for each of the following areas: contraception, physiological changes during the sexual response, arousal techniques, masturbation, impotence, frigidity, and homosexuality.A sample of thirty counselors was randomly selected from a list of all counselors and psychotherapists working in counseling centers in ten universities (student enrollment of 6,000 or more) within 100 miles of Muncie, Indiana. Excluded from this study were individuals identified as psychometrists or academic counselors.Data was collected through structured interviews, meeting individually with each counselor in the sample. Twenty-five of the 30 scheduled interviews were completed. Four interviews were missed due to illness or conflicting appointments, and one was terminated due to the extreme anxiety manifested by the counselor being interviewed. The findings were presented in terms of percentages.Data collected in this study suggest that many counselors tend to be poorly informed in the area of human sexuality. Sixty-eight percent of the counselors in this study were unable to adequately describe physiological aspects of the human sexual response. Thirty-two percent of the counselors, with varying degrees of conviction, continue to believe in the myth of the vaginal orgasm.Fewer than half of the counselors were able to adequately describe arousal techniques that might prove helpful to their clients.Between 20% and 36% of the counselors in this study stated non-supportable beliefs concerning negative effects of masturbation, e.g., that it leads to premature ejaculation.Twenty percent of the counselors were unable to adequately define impotence. Percentage estimates of the incidence of impotence were much higher than those estimates derived from research.Sixty-eight percent of the counselors used the term frigidity, yet offered such a wide variety of conflicting definitions that the term seems meaningless. Estimates of the incidence of non-orgasmic women were highly exaggerated. The frequency of homosexual behavior was overestimated, and the notion that homosexuals are more creative than heterosexuals was given by 20% of the sample.Although the purpose of this study was not to rate individual counselors on overall knowledge of human sexuality and the treatment of sexual dysfunction, the following impressions were gained, based upon both responses offered in the interviews and in post-interview discussions. Six of the counselors interviewed (24%) were obviously acquainted with a great deal of the current research in human sexuality and were actively concerned with issues in the treatment of sexual problems. At the opposite end of the continuum, 14 counselors, including the individual who became so overtly anxious that the interview had to be terminated, were unacquainted with current writings on the topic. The remaining six counselors fell in between these two extremes. These individuals most often asked for reference materials or stated that they had purchased books dealing with human sexuality, but had not yet read them. Also characteristic of this group was enthusiastic support for the notion of including course work on human sexuality in graduate training programs in the helping professions.Specific recommendations for further research in the area were made.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181120 |
| Date | January 1971 |
| Creators | Starks, Charles Allen |
| Contributors | Dimick, Kenneth M. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | iii, 60 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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