Presenting problems of sexually abused girls receiving psychiatric services.

Twenty-three behaviors among those suggested in the literature to be associated with sexual abuse were studied in 195 girls, ages 2–18 years, who were consecutive admissions to three Midwestern mental health agencies. Results indicated that sexually inappropriate behaviors, sleep disturbance, depressed mood, and delinquent behavior occurred more frequently in young abuse victims than in clinic comparisons. Sexually inappropriate behaviors and running away appeared more often in older sexually abused girls, than they appeared in older clinic comparisons. These comparisons of the presenting problems of sexually abused and nonabused girls suggest there are few behavioral "markers' of sexual abuse in clinical samples and that sexual abuse may not be a unique contributing factor in the ontogeny of childhood psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Play therapy behaviors of sexually abused children.

Examined the question of whether there are specific play therapy behaviors associated with children who have been sexually abused, and whether these behaviors differ by sex and age of the children. A survey instrument was developed which listed 140 play therapy behaviors. 21 play therapists participated in a field test to establish external validity. 249 play therapists were also surveyed to identify professionals who provide play therapy. Analysis identified highly interrelated play therapy behaviors of sexually abused girls and boys from ages 3–10 yrs. Suggested use of the play therapy behaviors include assessments to detect sexual abuse and recommendations for child placement and/or court testimony. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clients' sexually inappropriate behaviors directed toward clinicians: Conceptualization and management.

Sexually inappropriate behaviors in clinical settings are relatively common occurrences that may negatively affect the therapeutic process. For example, more than half of female psychologists have reported at least 1 incident in which a client responded in a sexually inappropriate manner. Thus, it is important for clinicians to understand inappropriate behaviors and respond in a manner that is both personally satisfying and helpful to the client. A framework for conceptualizing these behaviors is proposed, as well as components for, and examples of, therapeutic responses. Recommendations are provided for preventive measures to decrease the likelihood of inappropriate behaviors and for systemic approaches to benefit professional training in regards to these issues. Our aim is to stimulate further discussion of sexually inappropriate behaviors specifically by facilitating psychotherapists' ability to address clients' within-session sexual behavior, facilitating speculation of the antecedents of and motivations behind such behaviors, and facilitating discussion of such behaviors within supervision and, more broadly, within training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patients' sexual behavior and sexual harassment: A survey of clinical supervisors.

How do clinical supervisors respond to supervisees' reports of sexualized or sexually harassing behaviors by patients? A survey of experienced supervisors was conducted to answer this question and to determine the incidence of such reports. A substantial number of participants reported receiving at least 1 report of patient sexual harassment of a supervisee. Reports ranged from persistent inappropriate sexual comments to physical sexual assaults. Supervisors' responses ranged from supervisory discussions to active interventions. Clinical supervisors must acknowledge the potential for supervisees to be sexually harassed by patients and incorporate strategies to deal with harassment in their training programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early predictors of sexually intimate behaviors in an urban sample of young girls.

In recent years, concern has been raised about girls’ involvement in sexual activity at progressively younger ages. Little is known about the prevalence of emerging intimate behaviors, the psychosocial factors associated with these behaviors, or the moderating effects of ethnicity on these associations in early adolescence. In the current prospective study, we examined the prevalence and predictors of sexually intimate behaviors at age 12 years in an urban community sample of 1,116 ethnically diverse girls. Cluster analysis revealed 3 groups at age 12: no sexual behavior, mild behavior (e.g., holding hands), and moderate behavior (e.g., laying together). Minority status girls reported higher rates of both mild and moderate sexually intimate behaviors compared with European American girls. After controlling for the significant effects of age 11 intimate behaviors, lifetime alcohol use, poor parent–child communication, deviant peer behavior, onset of menarche, and interactions between ethnicity and impulsivity, social self-worth and depression uniquely increased the odds of engaging in moderately intimate behaviors at age 12 years. Parenting characteristics increased the likelihood of moderate, relative to mild, behaviors. For European American girls only, high levels of impulsivity and low social self-worth were associated with a higher likelihood of engaging in moderate intimate behaviors, whereas high levels of depressive symptoms reduced the odds. The results suggest that early prevention efforts need to incorporate awareness of different social norms relating to sexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual Experiences Survey: Reliability and validity.

Explored the veracity of self-reported sexual experiences as relayed by university students (242 females and 144 males) on a sexual experience survey that was completed once privately and a 2nd time in the presence of an interviewer. The Ss were selected from a group of 4,000 students to represent all degrees of exposure to sexual aggression and sexual victimization. Of the female Ss (mean age 21.3 yrs), 86% were single, 92% were White, and 25% were in each year of college study. Of the male Ss (mean age 21.7 yrs), 89% were single, 87% were White, and 25% were in each year of college study. Female Ss were classified as nonvictimized, sexually coerced, sexually abused, or sexually assaulted. Male Ss were classified as nonsexually aggressive, sexually aggressive, sexually abusive, or sexually assaultive. The Pearson correlation between female Ss' level of victimization (LOV) based on self-report and her LOV based on responses as related to the interviewer was .73. Among the 62 females whose self-reports suggested that they were rape victims, only 2 changed their responses. The LOV correlation between male Ss' responses was .61. Results reveal a tendency for males to deny behaviors during interviews that had been revealed on self-reports. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Child Sexual Behavior Inventory: Normative and clinical comparisons.

A normative sample of 880 children was contrasted with a sample of 276 sexually abused children on the Child Sexual Behavior Inventory (CSBI), a 35-item behavior checklist assessing sexual behavior in children 2–12 yrs old. The CSBI total score differed significantly between the 2 groups after controlling for age, sex, maternal education, and family income, with sexually abused children showing a greater frequency of sexual behaviors than did the normative sample. Test–retest reliability, interitem correlations, cross-validation, and correlations with abuse characteristics were also reported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Present versus future time perspective and HIV risk among heterosexual college students.

Because safer sex behaviors require planning and forethought and their primary motivations lie in the future, the hypothesis that behaviors that might reduce exposure to HIV would positively correlate with future time orientation, whereas risky behaviors would correlate with present time orientation, was tested in a survey of 188 heterosexual college students. As expected, those high in future time orientation were less likely to be sexually experienced and had fewer sexual partners. In contrast, present time orientation positively related to those measures. Those high in future orientation were more likely to use alternate methods of reducing exposure to HIV (e.g., inquiring about partner's sexual history, delaying or abstaining from sex). Time perspective also interacted with both gender and fear of AIDS. The responses of women and individuals low in fear were more related to time orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and attitudinal characteristics of sexually coercive college males.

To identify the characteristics of male participants in coercive sexual activities, 190 college males completed a survey of their involvement in coercive sexual behavior and a battery of measures selected to reflect conceptually relevant dimensions of coercive sexuality, including the short form of the Attitudes Toward Women Scale and the scales from the California Psychological Inventory. Consistent with reports in the literature, Ss reported being involved in a wide spectrum of sexually coercive behaviors. The degree of involvement in sexually coercive behavior covaried with personality measures of irresponsibility, a lack of social conscience, and a value orientation legitimizing aggression, particularly against women. Data suggest that these characterological features were necessary to potentiate the general cultural context of coercive sexuality into personally coercive sexual behavior. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in Young People's Sexual Behavior and Attitudes, 1943-1999: A Cross-Temporal Meta-Analysis.

A cross-temporal meta-analysis of 530 studies (N = 269,649) showed that young people's sexual attitudes and behavior changed substantially between 1943 and 1999, with the largest shifts occurring among girls and young women. Both young men and women became more sexually active over time, as measured by age at first intercourse (decreasing from 19 to 15 years among young women) and percentage sexually active (increasing from 13% to 47% among young women). Attitudes toward premarital intercourse became more lenient, with approval increasing from 12% to 73% among young women and from 40% to 79% among young men. Feelings of sexual guilt decreased. The correlation between attitudes and behaviors was stronger among young women. These data support theories positing that culture has a larger effect on women's sexuality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Amygdala size and hypothalamus size predict social play frequency in nonhuman primates: A comparative analysis using independent contrasts.

The amygdala and hypothalamus become sexually differentiated by gonadal hormones giving rise to sexually differentiated behaviors, which include play behavior. Phylogenetic comparative analyses test for relationships between social play and brain structure volumes. Relative volume of the amygdala and hypothalamus correlated with social play, but not nonsocial play, even after controlling for the size of other brain structures. The authors propose that behaviors such as social assessment, recognizing and responding to facial expression, and social response appropriateness, which are mediated by the amygdala, are developed through social play. Additionally, the hypothalamus may regulate the motivation to engage in play through positive reinforcement of pleasurable activity. Thus, the instinctive socioemotive aspects of play in primates appear to be those regulated by the amygdala and hypothalamus. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple sexual partners among U.S. adolescents and young adults

CONTEXT: Because many teenagers and young adults fail to use condoms correctly and consistently, the number of sexual partners they have is an important risk factor for sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV. Identifying factors that are associated with having multiple partners can help in the design of disease interventions. METHODS: Data on 8,450 males and females aged 14-22 who participated in the 1992 Youth Risk Behavior Survey were used to examine the prevalence of and factors associated with young people's having multiple partners. RESULTS: In all, 63% of female respondents and 64% of males were sexually experienced. Among those who had had sex during the three months before the survey, 15% and 35%, respectively, had had two or more partners during that period. At each age, the majority of sexually experienced respondents had had more than one lifetime partner; between ages 14 and 21, the proportion who had had six or more rose from 8% to 31% among females and from 14% to 45% among males. In logistic regression analyses, alcohol use, illicit drug use and young age at first coitus were associated with increased odds that females had had two or more partners in the previous three months, and being married lowered the odds; black or Hispanic race or ethnicity, alcohol use and young age at first coitus increased the odds for males, and being married reduced the odds. As the number of reported alcohol-related behaviors increased, the adjusted proportion of respondents who had recently had multiple partners rose from 8% to 48% among females and from 23% to 61% among men. CONCLUSIONS: The strong association between alcohol use and having multiple sexual partners underscores the need to educate young people about the effects of alcohol on partner choice and the risk of infection with sexually transmitted diseases.     

Is risky sexual behavior continuous or categorical? A taxometric analysis of the Sexual Risk Survey.

Risky sexual behaviors are behaviors that involve the possibility of an adverse outcome, such as contracting a sexually transmitted infection or unwanted pregnancy. The question of whether risky sexual behavior exists as a discrete class (i.e., taxon) or as a dimensional construct has not previously been explored. The authors performed a set of taxometric analyses on 4 factor scales derived from the Sexual Risk Survey (Turchik & Garske, 2009) with data from 1,103 college students. The results provided consistent support for a dimensional latent structure in which variations in reported risky sexual behavior reflect differences in degree and not differences in kind. The implications of these findings for the assessment of risky sexual behavior are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Patient sexual behavior and sexual harassment: A national survey of female psychologists.

A nationwide survey of 750 female psychologists practicing psychotherapy was conducted to determine the incidence of sexual harassment and potentially sexualized patient behaviors in clinical practice. A usable return rate of 48.7% was obtained (N?=?354). A total of 53.7% of the respondents reported at least 1 incident of sexual harassment. Events ranged from inappropriate verbal remarks to sexual assaults. Respondents reported an even higher incidence of sexually suggestive patient behaviors in clinical practice, although most of these were not experienced as sexual harassment. Implications for training and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent admissions to residential drug treatment: HIV risk behaviors pre- and posttreatment.

HIV risk behaviors of adolescents (N?=?938) admitted to residential therapeutic communities for drug abuse and related problems are described. Approximately 95% of the sample was sexually active. The adolescents reported that they had used drugs or alcohol about half of the time that they engaged in sexual relations and that half of their sexual activity was unprotected. Males and females differed in their self-perceptions of risk for HIV infection. Three dimensions of risky behaviors were identified by factor-analytic procedures: Risky Sex With Men, Risky Sex With Women, and Risky Drug Use Behaviors. Separate regression equations for males and females identified common and unique predictors of risky behaviors. A comparison of 1-year pretreatment with 1-year posttreatment risky behaviors for a subsample of the full cohort revealed significant positive changes (i.e., reductions) on some, but not all, measures of risky behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tests of the mediational role of preparatory safer sexual behavior in the context of the theory of planned behavior.

The present research details 2 empirical tests within the context of the theory of planned behavior (I. Ajzen & T. Madden, 1986) of the assumption that preparatory behaviors (e.g., discussing safer sex, obtaining condoms) play a mediational role in the relation between psychological variables (e.g., attitudes toward safer sex, social norms about safer sex) and condom use. The assumption of the mediational role of preparatory behaviors is examined in sexually experienced samples from 2 different populations: inner-city high school students (N=226) and college students (N=160). The results suggest that the mediational role of preparatory behaviors is a highly significant one. Results indicate no gender differences with regard to the main mediational hypotheses. The methodological, theoretical, and practical implications and importance of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impact of sexual abuse on children: A review and synthesis of recent empirical studies.

A review of 45 studies clearly demonstrates that sexually abused children have more symptoms than nonabused children, with abuse accounting for 15–45% of the variance. Fears, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), behavior problems, sexualized behaviors, and poor self-esteem occurred most frequently among a long list of symptoms noted, but no one symptom characterized a majority of sexually abused children. Some symptoms were specific to certain ages, and approximately one-third of victims had no symptoms. Penetration, the duration and frequency of the abuse, force, the relationship of the perpetrator to the child, and maternal support affected the degree of symptomatology. About two-thirds of the victimized children showed recovery during the 1st 12–28 mo. The findings suggest the absence of any specific syndrome in children who have been sexually abused and no single traumatizing process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining memory for heterosexual college students' sexual experiences using an electronic mail diary.

To examine memory for sexual experiences, the authors asked 37 sexually active, nonmonogamous, heterosexual college students to complete an e-mail diary every day for 1 month. The diary contained questions about their sexual behaviors. Six to 12 months later, they returned for a surprise memory test, which contained questions about their sexual experiences from the diary phase. They were asked about their sexual partners, the types of sexual experiences they had, and condom use. Participants underreported the number of partners they had, but they overreported both sexual experiences and condom use. The results have implications for both sexual health educators and for people who engage in high-risk sexual behaviors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)