Youth- and Peer-Led Sex Education

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alanna Goldstein
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Community Organizations ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Peer Educator ◽  
Aids Crisis ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Systems Thinking Approach

Peer-led and youth-led sex education primarily involves young people teaching other young people about sex, sexuality, and sexual health. This approach gained in popularity during the HIV/AIDS crisis of the 1980s–1990s, as community organizations sought to address the unique sexual health needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth, many of whom had been underserved in traditional sex education spaces. Since then, peer-led and youth-led sex education pedagogies have been implemented by researchers, educators, and community organizations working across a range of sites around the globe. Peer-led and youth-led sex education generally draws on assumptions that young people are better situated than adults to talk to their peers about sexual health and/or to model positive sexual health behavior. However, some have noted that this perspective constructs young people as a homogenous group and ignores the ways in which sexuality and sexual health intersects with other social factors. Furthermore, there is a general lack of consensus across interventions around who constitutes a “peer” and what constitutes “peer-led” sex education, resulting in the development of interventions that at times tokenize young people, without engaging them in meaningful ways. As a result, evaluations of many peer- and youth-led sex education pedagogies suggest that even as these pedagogies improve young people’s knowledge of sexual health-related topics, they often don’t result in long-term sexual health behavior change. However, many evaluations of peer- and youth-led sex education pedagogies do suggest that acting as a peer educator is of immense benefit to those who take on this role, pointing to the need for program developers to reconsider what effective sex education pedagogy might look like. A “social ecology” or “systems thinking” approach to youth sexual health may provide alternative models for thinking about the future of peer-led and youth-led sex education. These approaches don’t task peer- and youth-led sex education with the sole responsibility of changing young people’s sexual health-related outcomes, but rather situate peer-led sex education as one potential node in the larger confluence of factors that shape and constrain young people’s sexual health.

scholarly journals Good sex matters: Pleasure as a driver of online sex education for young people

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1480
Author(s):  
Lindsay van Clief ◽  
Elianne Anemaat
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
New Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Positive Approach ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
The Difference

Background There are few documented examples of online sex education platforms that make an impact on young people’s sexual health and wellbeing, yet research shows that new media has enormous potential to be harnessed in this way. The same is true for a pleasure-positive approach to sex education curricula and programmes. This research provides empirical evidence from the Love Matters' websites in Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and India to highlight the prevalence and importance of talking about pleasure-related topics with young people. Methodology Love Matters is an online sex education platform targeting seven countries and attracting 30 million website visits in 2018. We analysed data through Google Analytics to explore the difference between sex education-focused content and pleasure-focused content and how young people engage with different types of sexual health information on the Love Matters platforms. Results Pleasure-focused content is 1.5 times more popular than sex education-focused content across all platforms. However, education-focused content attracts more organic traffic, suggesting young people purposefully search for sexual health information online. Users generally spend longer on the site engaging with sex education-focused content than pleasure-focused content. Conclusion This research provides empirical evidence from five countries in the Global South to support the notion that young people are actively looking for sexual health information that covers the full scope of sexual experience and pleasure, including – but not limited to – the reduction of health risks. This paper furthers the efforts to adopt a pleasure-positive approach to both online and offline sex education interventions.

scholarly journals Archetypes of Gamification: Analysis of mHealth Apps

10.2196/19280 ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (10) ◽  
pp. e19280
Author(s):  
Manuel Schmidt-Kraepelin ◽  
Philipp A Toussaint ◽  
Scott Thiebes ◽  
Juho Hamari ◽  
Ali Sunyaev
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Health Behaviors ◽  
Mobile Health ◽  
Positive Reinforcement ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Health Related

Background Nowadays, numerous health-related mobile apps implement gamification in an attempt to draw on the motivational potential of video games and thereby increase user engagement or foster certain health behaviors. However, research on effective gamification is still in its infancy and researchers increasingly recognize methodological shortcomings of existing studies. What we actually know about the phenomenon today stems from fragmented pieces of knowledge, and a variety of different perspectives. Existing research primarily draws on conceptual knowledge that is gained from research prototypes, and isolated from industry best practices. We still lack knowledge on how gamification has been successfully designed and implemented within the industry and whether certain gamification approaches have shown to be particularly suitable for certain health behaviors. Objective We address this lack of knowledge concerning best practices in the design and implementation of gamification for health-related mobile apps by identifying archetypes of gamification approaches that have emerged in pertinent health-related mobile apps and analyzing to what extent those gamification approaches are influenced by the underlying desired health-related outcomes. Methods A 3-step research approach is employed. As a first step, a database of 143 pertinent gamified health-related mobile apps from the Apple App Store and Google Play Store is set up. Second, the gamification approach of each app within the database is classified based on an established taxonomy for gamification in health-related apps. Finally, a 2-step cluster analysis is conducted in order to identify archetypes of the most dominant gamification approaches in pertinent gamified health-related mobile apps. Results Eight archetypes of gamification emerged from the analysis of health-related mobile apps: (1) competition and collaboration, (2) pursuing self-set goals without rewards, (3) episodical compliance tracking, (4) inherent gamification for external goals, (5) internal rewards for self-set goals, (6) continuous assistance through positive reinforcement, (7) positive and negative reinforcement without rewards, and (8) progressive gamification for health professionals. The results indicate a close relationship between the identified archetypes and the actual health behavior that is being targeted. Conclusions By unveiling salient best practices and discussing their relationship to targeted health behaviors, this study contributes to a more profound understanding of gamification in mobile health. The results can serve as a foundation for future research that advances the knowledge on how gamification may positively influence health behavior change and guide practitioners in the design and development of highly motivating and effective health-related mobile health apps.

scholarly journals Good sex matters: Pleasure as a driver of online sex education for young people

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 1480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lindsay van Clief ◽  
Elianne Anemaat
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
New Media ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Health Information ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexual Experience ◽  
Positive Approach ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
The Difference

Background There are few documented examples of online sex education platforms that make an impact on young people’s sexual health and wellbeing, yet research shows that new media has enormous potential to be harnessed in this way. The same is true for a pleasure-positive approach to sex education curricula and programmes. This research provides empirical evidence from the Love Matters' websites in Mexico, Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, and India to highlight the prevalence and importance of talking about pleasure-related topics with young people. Methodology Love Matters is an online sex education platform targeting seven countries and attracting 30 million website visits in 2018. We analysed data through Google Analytics to explore the difference between sex education-focused content and pleasure-focused content and how young people engage with different types of sexual health information on the Love Matters platforms. Results Pleasure-focused content is 1.5 times more popular than sex education-focused content across all platforms. However, education-focused content attracts more organic traffic, suggesting young people purposefully search for sexual health information online. Users generally spend longer on the site engaging with sex education-focused content than pleasure-focused content. Conclusion This research provides empirical evidence from five countries in the Global South to support the notion that young people are actively looking for sexual health information that covers the full scope of sexual experience and pleasure, including – but not limited to – the reduction of health risks. This paper furthers the efforts to adopt a pleasure-positive approach to both online and offline sex education interventions.

Beliefs Are Not Behavior

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 119-129 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theda Radtke ◽  
Urte Scholz
Keyword(s):  
Alcohol Consumption ◽  
Health Behavior ◽  
Health Beliefs ◽  
Health Behavior Change ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Confirmatory Factor Analyses ◽  
Unhealthy Behavior ◽  
Health Related ◽  
Sample Method ◽  
And Behavior

Abstract. Compensatory health beliefs (CHBs), defined as belief that an unhealthy behavior can be compensated by engaging in another healthy behavior, are negatively predictive of health-behavior change intentions and behavior. However, CHBs have to be distinguished from compensatory health behavior (CBs), which is defined as compensatory behavior that an individual engages in. As it has not been investigated to date, the aim of this study was to systematically examine the distinction between CHBs and CBs in the context of alcohol consumption. The baseline sample consisted of 898 participants (mainly students, mean age = 23.57 years). For running exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses on CHBs and CBs, the split-half sample method was used. Moreover, the relationships of CHBs and CBs with health-related variables were assessed by regression analyses. The cross-sectional analyses supported the distinction between CHBs and CBs. In contrast to the CHBs, CBs were positively predictive of the intention to drink less alcohol and alcohol consumption. The consideration of CBs when investigating health behavior is highly relevant.

Untangling the conflation of ‘young adults’ and ‘young people’ in STI and sexual health policy and sex education

Sex Education ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (5) ◽  
pp. 527-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalie A. Hendry ◽  
Graham Brown ◽  
Marina Carman ◽  
Jeanette Ellard ◽  
Jack Wallace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Health Policy ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education

scholarly journals Embarrassment as a Key Emotion in Young People Talking about Sexual Health

2007 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edwin van Teijlingen ◽  
Jennifer Reid ◽  
Janet Shucksmith ◽  
Fiona Harris ◽  
Kate Philip ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Evaluation Study ◽  
Health Campaigns ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Sexual Health Information ◽  
Sex And Sexuality ◽  
Emotional Aspects ◽  
Health Studies

This paper highlights embarrassment as one of the often-ignored emotions of young people when it comes to discussing issues around sexual health. There have been many sexual health studies on knowledge, attitudes and behaviour of young people over the past two decades, but emotional aspects have been largely ignored, despite a growing literature in the sociology of emotion. A qualitative approach was adopted in the form of focus group discussions, which included questions on sex education, sexual health campaigns and formal and informal sources of sexual health information and advice. Focus groups were conducted in secondary schools in and around Edinburgh and Aberdeen as part of a four-year evaluation study of a Scottish Demonstration Project on young people's sexual health: ‘Healthy Respect’. We conclude that is it important for policy makers and sexual health promoters to understand young people's notions of embarrassment. Not only are there elements of sex education that (some) young people perceive as embarrassing, they also sense embarrassment in those people providing them with sex education. Young people reported that both professionals (e.g. teachers and doctors) and their parents could be embarrassed about raising the topic of sexual health. Moreover, as one of the goals of sex education is to ensure an open and non-embarrassing attitude towards sex and sexuality, there is still a major gap between the aspirations of health educators and policy makers and the ways that young people experience such education.

Researching Young People and Sex in Northern Ireland

2003 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 5-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Schubotz ◽  
Bill Rolston ◽  
Audrey Simpson
Keyword(s):  
Northern Ireland ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sexual Intercourse ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Peer Pressure ◽  
First Sexual Intercourse ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
The University ◽  
Sex Positive

This paper reports on the first substantive attempt to accomplish in Northern Ireland what has been done in a number of other societies: namely, the investigation of the sexual attitudes and lifestyles of young people. Co-managed by the Family Planning Association Northern Ireland and the University of Ulster, the three-year research project focused on young people in Northern Ireland aged 14–25 years. In this paper we present some baseline results from the survey, which took place from May 2000 to March 2002 and achieved a quota sample of 1,013 respondents. They include the following: 53.3% of all respondents reported that they had sexual intercourse. Condom use at first sex was reported by 64% of sexually active respondents, 27.4% said they used no contraception. Peer pressure to engage in sex was more prevalent among males than females. Young people in Northern Ireland regarded friends as their most important source of sex education. School was the second most important source, but most respondents wanted more sex education in school. Beyond these baseline data, the findings of the research allow for an informed discussion of a number of key issues of concern regarding young people's sexual health, including the timing and circumstances of first sexual intercourse, and issues arising from sexual orientation. Finally, we suggest that an essential requirement for improved sexual health of young people would be to follow a more sex-positive approach, which encourages young people to discuss sexual matters openly with their peer and others.

‘Let's talk about sex’: balancing children's rights and parental responsibilities

Legal Studies ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Cumper
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Children's Rights ◽  
The State ◽  
Children’S Rights ◽  
Central Thesis ◽  
Comprehensive Sex Education ◽  
The Right

Although sex education lessons have been provided in our schools for many years, concerns about the sexual health and practices of the nation's youth remain centre stage. In recent years, a number of initiatives have been introduced, with varying degrees of success, to increase young people's awareness of sexual matters and to reduce the high number of unplanned teenage pregnancies. One particularly controversial idea is that parents should be divested of the right to withdraw their children from sex education classes. In this paper, I consider the implications of this proposal, paying special attention to the response of those conservative religious organisations most likely to oppose it. My central thesis is that, while the state should be careful not to ride rough-shod over the wishes of parents in what is an extremely emotive area, the interests of the child are paramount and all young people in maintained secondary schools should have access to comprehensive sex education programmes.

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