scholarly journals Sexual Behaviour and Fantasies in a Group of Young Italian Cohort

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (19) ◽  
pp. 4327
Author(s):  
Marina Di Mauro ◽  
Giorgio Ivan Russo ◽  
Gaia Polloni ◽  
Camilla Tonioni ◽  
Daniel Giunti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health It ◽  
First Sexual Intercourse ◽  
Sexual Orientations ◽  
Practical Implications ◽  
Italian Cohort

Over the years, sexual behaviour has changed due to the growing interest in everything related to the sexual sphere. The purpose of the study was to collect information on the sexual habits and behaviours of Italian people of all ages, sexes and sexual orientations and to describe the patterns of sexual behaviour, with the aim of gaining a representative picture of sexuality in Italy, before the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants completed a survey with 99 questions about their sexual habits. In our group first sexual experiences occurred on average around the age of 15, whilst the median age of the first sexual intercourse was 17. The fantasies that most stimulated and excited our group (Likert scale ≥ 3) was having sex in public (63.9%), having sex with more than one person at the same time (59.4%), blindfolded sex (64.9%), being tied up (56.3%) and observing a naked person (48.6%). As for pornography, we have shown that 80% of our group watched porn at home, alone or from their smartphones. Our results have several practical implications for the areas of sex education and sexual health. It is necessary to safeguard the health of young people and support them increasing their sexual well-being.

scholarly journals Sexual health promotion for young people delivered via digital media: a scoping review

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (13) ◽  
pp. 1-120 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Bailey ◽  
Sue Mann ◽  
Sonali Wayal ◽  
Rachael Hunter ◽  
Caroline Free ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Digital Media ◽  
Behaviour Change ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Sexual Health Education

BackgroundYoung people are at risk of poor sexual health and are, therefore, in need of comprehensive, effective sexual health education. Young people are confident and constant users of digital technology, such as the internet and mobile phones, and there are many innovative possibilities for sexual health education involving these technologies.ObjectivesTo summarise evidence on effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and mechanism of action of interactive digital interventions (IDIs) for sexual health; optimal practice for intervention development; contexts for successful implementation; research methods for digital intervention evaluation; and the future potential of sexual health promotion via digital media.DesignLiterature review of evidence on digital interventions for sexual health for young people, integrating the findings with the views of young people, parents and experts in digital media/sexual health. IDIs are defined as digital media programmes that provide health information and tailored decision support, behaviour-change support and/or emotional support. We focus on sexual well-being for young people aged 13–24 years in the UK.ResultsThere are many imaginative IDIs for sexual health promotion, but few interventions address issues that are important to young people, such as sexual pleasure and relationships. It is vital to collaborate with young people and to use Behaviour-Change Theory in designing interventions. We located 19 randomised controlled trials of IDIs for sexual health promotion for young people, finding a moderate effect on sexual health knowledge [standardised mean difference (SMD) 0.54, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.17 to 0.92], a small effect on confidence (self-efficacy) (SMD 0.11, 95% CI 0.02 to 0.20) and a positive effect on sexual behaviour (odds ratio 1.28, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.61), but no significant effects on safer sex intention or biological outcomes. One study suggests that IDIs may be as good as face-to-face interventions for sexual health knowledge and safer sex intention. There are no existing data on the cost-effectiveness of IDIs for sexual health promotion. The impact of an IDI will be determined by the proportion of the target population reached, intervention efficacy, adoption in a setting, how well it is delivered and maintenance/sustainability. All of these elements must be addressed for IDIs to be successful. More collaboration is needed to capitalise on the knowledge of users and stakeholders, the design and software skills of the commercial sector and the theoretical expertise and evaluation skills of academia.ConclusionsIDIs are effective for knowledge acquisition and sexual behaviour, and could usefully contribute to sexual health education in schools, in clinic settings and online; however, there are obstacles to overcome, such as access to information technology and ensuring the quality and safety of interventions.Future workMore evidence is needed on the best designs for interventions (e.g. choice of behaviour-change mechanisms and interactive features) and the best models of delivery (e.g. setting, modes of delivery, methods of facilitation and support for engagement) to improve sexual behaviour, biological outcomes and sexual well-being in a cost-effective way.FundingThe National Institute for Health Research Public Health Research programme.

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.

scholarly journals Doing relationships and sexuality education with young people in state care

2016 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 194-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abbey Hyde ◽  
Deirdre Fullerton ◽  
Caroline McKeown ◽  
Maria Lohan ◽  
Laura Dunne ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Skills ◽  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexuality Education ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Care Delivery ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Health Needs ◽  
Analytical Strategy

Background: Existing literature indicates that young people in state care have particular sexual health needs that include addressing their social and emotional well-being, yet little has been published as to how these components of sex education are actually delivered by service-providers. Objective: The aim of this study was to analyse the processes involved in delivering relationship and sexuality education to young people in state care from the perspectives of a sample of service-providers with a role in sexual health-care delivery. Design: Qualitative methodological strategy. Setting: Service-delivery sites at urban and rural locations in Ireland. Method: A total of 22 service-providers were interviewed in depth, and data were analysed using a qualitative analytical strategy resembling modified analytical induction. Findings: Participants proffered their perceptions and examples of their practices of sex education in relation to the following themes: (1) acknowledging the multi-dimensional nature of sexual health in the case of young people in care; (2) personal and emotional development education to address poor self-esteem, emotional disconnectedness and an inability to recognise and express emotions; (3) social skills’ education as part of a repertoire of competencies needed to negotiate relationships and safer sex; (4) the application of positive social skills embedded in everyday social situations; and (5) factual sexuality education. Conclusion: Insights into service-providers’ perceptions of the multi-dimensional nature of the sexual health needs of young people in state care, and the ways in which these service-providers justified their practice make visible the complex character of sex education and the degree of skill required to deliver it to those in state care.

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.

Using digital storytelling to promote the sexual health and well-being of migrant and refugee young people: A scoping review

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (7) ◽  
pp. 735-748 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica R Botfield ◽  
Christy E Newman ◽  
Caroline Lenette ◽  
Kath Albury ◽  
Anthony B Zwi
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Culturally Diverse ◽  
Digital Storytelling ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Knowledge Gaps ◽  
Diverse Backgrounds ◽  
Digital Stories ◽  
Health And Well Being

Objective: Digital storytelling and other methods of self-expression and autobiography have become an increasingly important tool for those working with young people, including those from migrant, refugee or other ‘culturally diverse’ backgrounds. A structured scoping review was undertaken to better understand the potential value and challenges of using digital stories to promote the health and well-being of these diverse groups of young people and to identify key knowledge gaps. Design: The review process comprised a systematic search of the literature and strategic consultations with professionals working with young people in the area of sexual and reproductive health promotion and care. A descriptive-analytic method was used to collate and synthesise the literature and apply narrative and thematic analyses. Results: In total, 28 papers were deemed eligible for inclusion. Findings are presented as two analyses: what is known from the literature and key knowledge gaps. Identified themes included the use of digital stories as social activism and as research intervention, recognition of digital stories as complex terrain and recommendations for good practice. Three key gaps of particular relevance to our research aims were identified. These were (1) the lack of digital stories on sexual health and relationships by ‘culturally diverse’ young people in Australia, (2) the need for discussion of the ethical considerations of using digital storytelling and related methods in sexual health fields and (3) the value of exploring opportunities to employ digital methods as self-representation and autobiography to generate new knowledge and build organisational capacity. Conclusion: As confirmed in discussions with professionals working in the youth, migrant and sexual health sectors, the literature highlighted the many potential applications of digital storytelling to promoting the sexual health and well-being of young people from diverse backgrounds. Additional research is required to understand the particular ethical and contextual issues shaping, and at times constraining, this engagement in specific cultural contexts.

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.

Perceived impact of COVID-19 on sexual health and access to sexual health services among university students in Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Wood ◽  
Christopher Quinn-Nilas ◽  
Alexander McKay ◽  
Jocelyn Wentland
Keyword(s):  
Health Services ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
University Students ◽  
Sexual Behaviour ◽  
Health Care Services ◽  
Online Survey ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Personal Contact ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Perceived Impact

We examined the perceived impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on sexual health, sexual behaviour, well-being, and access to sexual health services among university students in Canada. Between December 2020 and January 2021, 1504 university students across Canada completed an online survey focused on overall sexual health, well-being, solitary sexual behaviours, partnered sexual interactions, and access to sexual health services. The survey was designed by the Sex Information & Education Council of Canada and administered by the Leger polling company. Reported levels of overall sexual health were high. Cisgender women reported significantly greater scores of COVID-19—related stress compared to cisgender men; LGBQ+ students had higher levels of stress compared to heterosexual participants. Overall, solitary sexual behaviours (i.e., masturbation, porn use, vibrator use) remained unchanged or were perceived to increase compared to the time before the pandemic. Cisgender men reported higher scores (i.e., greater perceived increases) on masturbation and porn use than cisgender women. Frequency of sex with casual partners was perceived as similar or lower than what was usual before the pandemic, and most participants did not engage in sex where the close personal contact put them or their partner at risk for COVID-19. Declines in access were reported for all sexual health care services surveyed, with cisgender women and students of colour more likely to report decreased access to services. Results highlight the need for targeted public health messaging regarding sexual behaviour, investment in sexual health services, and supports tailored to the needs of women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and people of colour.

Sexual and reproductive health knowledge among young people: a bibliometric analysis (1900 – 2019)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
waleed sweileh ◽  
Ahmad Mansour
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
Reproductive Health ◽  
San Francisco ◽  
Sex Education ◽  
Sexual And Reproductive Health ◽  
Health Knowledge ◽  
Hpv Vaccination ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Activity ◽  
Country Level

Abstract Background: Adolescents and youth (young people) are central to the success of the 2030 agenda. Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge among young people is critical for their well-being. The objective study was to assess and analyze publications on SHR knowledge among young people. Method: This study was a bibliometric descriptive one for publications retrieved from Scopus on SHR knowledge among young people. All relevant terms on young people, SHR, and knowledge were implemented to retrieve relevant publications for the study period from 1900 to 2019. Results: The search found 2544 publications. Publication started on 1951. The number of publications showed two steep phases: one in mid-1980s and one after 2005. Four research themes were identified: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV); human papillomavirus (HPV), condom, and contraception with documents on HPV vaccinations being the most recent. The retrieved publications received an average of 10.9 citations per document and an h -index of 61. The top cited documents published before 2010 focused mainly on HIV, HPV, and condom use while those after 2010 focused on HIV testing technology, HIV prophylaxis and HPV vaccination. The retrieved documents originated mainly from the region of the Americas (n=944). When data were normalized, the South-Eastern Asian region had the highest research activity. At the country level, the USA ranked first (n=701; 27.6%) but when data was normalized, India (91.5 publication per GDP per capita) ranked first followed by Nigeria (53.0) and South Africa (17.9). Journal of Adolescent Health (n=39; 1.5%) ranked first but documents published in AIDS Education and Prevention journal received the highest number of citations per document (34.1). The University of California, San Francisco ranked first (n=33; 1.3%) in this field. The average number of authors per publication was 3.8. Research networking in this field was poor. Conclusion: This was the first analysis of publications on SRH knowledge among a category of people who are most often neglected in their SRH needs. Research on knowledge and awareness on this subject need to be carried out in all world regions to tailor sex education and health policies to the sociocultural and religious situation in each country.

Sexuality and public health

2021 ◽  
pp. 307-316
Author(s):  
Richard Parker ◽  
Jonathan Garcia ◽  
Miguel Muñoz-Laboy ◽  
Marni Sommer ◽  
Patrick Wilson
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Hiv And Aids ◽  
Health It ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
International Agencies ◽  
Health Response ◽  
Health And Well Being ◽  
Over Time

This chapter seeks to provide an overview of this rapidly growing body of work in public health. It describes the initial public health response to sexuality in the context of HIV and AIDS, as well as the ways in which that response has been gradually broadened over time in order to provide a more comprehensive approach to sexual health and well-being. It also focuses on both the local and the global dimensions of this work, in both developed and developing countries, and as much in the work of local communities struggling to respond to the needs of their own populations, as well as on the part of a range of international agencies that are increasingly seeking to address a range of challenges to sexual health.

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