Sex on the Screen: A Content Analysis of Free Internet Pornography Depicting Mixed-Sex Threesomes from 2012–2020

Viewing online pornography is common among US adults, with mixed-sex threesome (MST) videos being one of the top 10 most popular categories of pornography for both men and women. The current content analysis applied sexual script theory to understand the themes present in these mixed-sex threesome videos. Independent coders viewed a total of 50 videos (25 MMF and 25 FFM) at each timepoint (2012, 2015, 2020) and coded for different sexual behaviors and themes in each video. By examining both same-sex (female–female, male–male) and other-sex (female–male) behaviors, as well as themes of aggression and sexual initiation in different videos and across three timepoints, it was determined that other-sex behaviors are more common in MST videos than same-sex behaviors. Same-sex behaviors between two female actors were more common than same-sex behaviors between two male actors. Aggression was a common theme in videos, with male actors being more aggressive on average than female actors. Most of these trends did not change across 8 years, suggesting that the impacts of traditional sexual scripts are pervasive in pornography, even in current online content. Important implications for both researchers and clinical professionals are discussed.

Comprehensive sexuality education to reduce pregnancy and STIs in adolescents in the United States: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background. The United States has a higher rate of teen pregnancy than any other developed country with 30% of American girls becoming pregnant before the age of 20. Laws regarding the inclusion and content of sexuality education vary across the country, which are associated with differences in pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates between states. This systematic review aims to determine whether comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is more effective than abstinence-only or no sexuality education at reducing teenage pregnancy. Secondary objectives include analyzing the effect of CSE on STI incidence, sexual activity, safe-sex behaviors, and social discomfort. Methods. We searched MEDLINE (PubMed), EMBASE (Ovid), Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Scopus for studies published from 1990–2021. Additionally, we searched ClinicalTrials.gov and Google Scholar and manually searched reference lists of included papers. Results. Twenty-nine studies met our inclusion criteria. Only seven included pregnancy as an outcome, with three fitting our meta-analysis criteria. There was a decrease in pregnancy rates for participants in the CSE intervention compared to the control (n = 3, risk ratio = 0.89, 95%CI 0.79- 1.00, I2 = 0%). Fifteen of 21 studies reporting safe-sex behaviors, 8 of 24 reporting sexual activity, and 0 of 3 reporting STI rates found statistically significant results favoring CSE. In the narrative synthesis, we found an increase in safe-sex behaviors, specifically condom use, in adolescents receiving CSE compared to no intervention. Conclusions. CSE is likely to reduce pregnancy rates; however, there was limited data available on this outcome. CSE increased safe-sex behaviors but did not have a notable impact on sexual activity or STIs. Future research should include the effects of CSE on social discomfort as well as more studies comparing CSE to abstinence-only education. This review can serve as evidence for the implementation of CSE in the US.

Sexual Communication Between Queer Partners

Effective communication is vital to any relationship, and sexual communication is no different. Given its importance, sexual communication and its relation to a variety of topics has been studied in recent years. Included among these are its relation to safer sex behaviors, sexual and relationship satisfaction, and fertility and family planning among heterosexual partners. Yet, for queer partners, the data reflect interest in sexual communication as it relates to safe sex behaviors such as condom use and HIV status. Further, the current base of published literature on sexual communication among queer partners focuses almost exclusively on men who have sex with men and leaves out other types of queer partnerships. To be truly inclusive, it is imperative that sexual communication research broaden its focus to include topics that do not medicalize queer couples, such as sexual pleasure, satisfaction, and relationship well-being.

Existence and Implications of Women Who Have Sex with Women in Tanzania: A Public Health Perspective

Women who engage in sexual activities with other women are known existing in all societies around the globe. However, the understanding of the size, trends and implications of female same sex behaviors and practices is generally lacking and vary within and among many countries including Tanzania. As a result, there is limited understanding of the public health importance of this group, which is often cited as the reason for not investing in work targeted at women who have sex with women and other minority groups in the country. It is from this perspective, that we conducted a formative qualitative study that aimed at, among other objectives, to establish the existence of women who have sex with women and the magnitude of female same sex behaviors and practices in Tanzania using a case study of the Dar-es-Salaam administrative region. Our findings prove that women who have sex with women exist mainly in urban areas in the country and for several reasons, their number is perceived rapidly increasing. We recommend further multidisciplinary (public health) research among women who have sex with women in the country to facilitate the availability of comprehensive and informative data on this population group.

Using Social Cognitive Theory to Predict Safer Sex Behaviors in College Students

Young adults engage themselves in unsafe sexual behaviors exposing themselves to getting aSTD and/or HIV/AIDS. The purpose of this study was to use social cognitive theory in predicting safer sex behaviors among college students. A cross-sectional study design was implemented among a sample of 180 sexually active college students. More than half of the survey responders were monogamous and less than a quarter had two sexual partners. A step-wise multiple regressions model indicated a statistically significant predictive model with self-efficacy, situational perceptions and self-control towards safer sex as significant predictors (48% predicted variance) of self-reported sexual behaviors.