The fate of filial attachment in juvenile guinea pigs housed apart from the mother

Thirty-five-day-old juvenile guinea pigs exhibited higher levels of plasma cortisol following 60 min of exposure to a novel environment when tested alone than when in the presence of the mother. This effect occurred regardless of whether the offspring had been housed continuously with mother and littermates from birth until testing or had been rehoused with just littermates 1 or 2 days prior to testing. Offspring vocalized more when alone then when in the presence of the mother only if they had been housed continuously with her until testing. In addition, juvenile males reunited with the mother after 1 or 2 days directed sexual behavior toward her. The sexual behavior was not accompanied by a significant change in plasma testosterone levels, though there was an overall suppression of levels following isolation in the novel test environment. The results show that guinea pig mothers maintain the capacity to prevent their offspring from exhibiting a plasma cortisol stress response even when the offspring are well beyond weaning and have been housed apart from her for up to 2 days. This suggests the existence of filial attachment in juveniles under these conditions. Further, juvenile males appear capable of simultaneously directing filial attachment and sexual behavior toward the same female.     

Sexual approach conditioning: Tests of unconditioned stimulus devaluation using hormone manipulations.

Contents of learning that result from CS–unconditioned stimulus/stimuli (UCS) pairings in sexual approach conditioning were explored with male Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Sexual motivation of Ss conditioned to approach an arbitrary stimulus in a Pavlovian sexual conditioning paradigm was reduced by exposing them to a short photoperiod. Decreased sexual motivation resulted in a decline in sexually conditioned approach behavior (Exps 1 and 2). Responding was restored when Ss were returned to a long photoperiod (Exp 1) and when exogenous testosterone was administered (Exp 2). Decreased sexual motivation did not affect food-conditioned approach behavior (Exp 3). These results suggest that sexually conditioned approach behavior is mediated by a representation of the UCS, which is activated by the CS. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pathways from childhood abuse and neglect to HIV-risk sexual behavior in middle adulthood.

Objective: This study examines the relationship between childhood abuse and neglect and sexual risk behavior in middle adulthood and whether psychosocial factors (risky romantic relationships, affective symptoms, drug and alcohol use, and delinquent and criminal behavior) mediate this relationship. Method: Children with documented cases of physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect (ages 0–11) processed during 1967–1971 were matched with nonmaltreated children and followed into middle adulthood (approximate age 41). Mediators were assessed in young adulthood (approximate age 29) through in-person interviews between 1989 and 1995 and official arrest records through 1994 (N = 1,196). Past year HIV-risk sexual behavior was assessed via self-reports during 2003–2004 (N = 800). Logistic regression was used to examine differences in sexual risk behavior between the abuse and neglect and control groups, and latent variable structural equation modeling was used to test mediator models. Results: Child abuse and neglect was associated with increased likelihood of risky sexual behavior in middle adulthood, odds ratio = 2.84, 95% CI [1.74, 4.64], p ≤ .001, and this relationship was mediated by risky romantic relationships in young adulthood. Conclusions: Results of this study draw attention to the potential long-term consequences of child abuse and neglect for physical health, in particular sexual risk, and point to romantic relationships as an important focus of intervention and prevention efforts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment.

Research on gender differences in perceptions of sexual harassment informs an ongoing legal debate regarding the use of a reasonable person standard instead of a reasonable woman standard to evaluate sexual harassment claims. The authors report a meta-analysis of 62 studies of gender differences in harassment perceptions. An earlier quantitative review combined all types of social–sexual behaviors for a single meta-analysis; the purpose of this study was to investigate whether the magnitude of the female–male difference varies by type of behavior. An overall standardized mean difference of 0.30 was found, suggesting that women perceive a broader range of social–sexual behaviors as harassing. However, the meta-analysis also found that the female–male difference was larger for behaviors that involve hostile work environment harassment, derogatory attitudes toward women, dating pressure, or physical sexual contact than sexual propositions or sexual coercion. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual compulsivity, state affect, and sexual risk behavior in a daily diary study of gay and bisexual men.

Researchers have identified a strong link between sexual compulsivity (SC) and risky sexual behavior among men who have sex with men (MSM). Meanwhile, affect/mood has also been connected with negative sexual health outcomes (sexually transmitted infection/human immunodeficiency virus [HIV] transmission, sexual risk, sex under the influence of drugs/alcohol). Given that SC is characterized by marked distress around one's own sexual behavior, affect may play a central role in SC and HIV risk behavior. Data were taken from the Pillow Talk Project, a pilot study conducted in 2008–2009 with 50 highly sexually active MSM (9 or more male sex partners, ≤ 90 days), of which half displayed SC symptoms and half did not. Forty-seven men completed a daily diary online for 30 days (n = 1,060 diary days), reporting on their sexual behavior and concurrent affect: positive activation, negative activation, anxious arousal, and sexual activation. We conducted HLM analyses using daily affect (Level 1, within subjects) and SC and HIV status (Level 2, between subjects) to predict sexual behavior outcomes. Increased negative activation (characterized by fear, sadness, anger, and disgust) was associated with reduced sexual risk behavior, but less so among sexually compulsive MSM. Sexual activation was associated with increased sexual risk taking, but less so among sexually compulsive MSM. Anxious arousal was associated with increased sexual behavior, but not necessarily sexual risk taking. Findings indicate that affect plays key roles in sexual behavior and sexual risk taking; however, the association between affect and behavior may be different for sexually compulsive and non-sexually compulsive MSM. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroendocrine reactivity, internalizing behavior problems, and control-related cognitions in clinic-referred children and adolescents.

Literature on neuroendocrine-behavior relations suggests that cortisol reactivity to social challenge may be associated with children's internalizing problem behavior. To explore this possibility, and the role of control-related beliefs, 102 7–17 yr-old clinic-referred children were studied. Measures of problem behavior, depression and anxiety, and control-related beliefs were collected, and Ss' saliva was sampled before and after a parent–child conflict task. Neuroendocrine activation (i.e., cortisol increase) in response to the interaction task was associated with Ss' (1) social withdrawal, social anxiety, and social problems; (2) socially inhibited behavior during the task; and (3) low levels of perceived social contingency and high levels of external attributions for personal successes and failures. Our findings are among the first to link children's behavioral response to social challenge, neuroendocrine activation, cognitions, and psychopathology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How can parents make a difference? Longitudinal associations with adolescent sexual behavior.

Parents have the potential to protect against adolescent sexual risk, including early sexual behavior, inconsistent condom use, and outcomes such as pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Identification of the specific parenting dimensions associated with sexual risk in adolescence and young adulthood is necessary to inform and focus prevention efforts. The current study examined the relation of proximal (e.g., discussions of sexual costs) and distal (e.g., parental involvement, relationship quality) parenting variables with concurrent and longitudinal adolescent sexual behavior. The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) provided a nationally representative sample with information about the family using adolescent and parent informants. Longitudinal information about sexual risk included adolescent condom use and adolescent sexual initiation, as well as young adult unintended pregnancy, reports of STIs, and biological assay results for three STIs. Higher parent–adolescent relationship quality was associated with lower levels of adolescent unprotected intercourse and intercourse initiation. Better relationship quality was also associated with lower levels of young adult STIs, even when accounting for prior sexual activity. Unexpectedly, more parent reports of communication regarding the risks associated with sexual activity were negatively associated with condom use and greater likelihood of sexual initiation. These results demonstrate that parents play an important role, both positive and negative, in sexual behavior, which extends to young adulthood, and underscores the value of family interventions in sexual risk prevention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social behavior correlates of cortisol activity in child care: gender differences and time-of-day effects

The relations between social behavior and daily patterns of a stress-sensitive hormone production were examined in preschool children (N = 75) attending center-based child care. Three behavioral dimensions, shy/anxious/internalizing, angry/aggressive/externalizing, and social competence, were assessed by teacher report and classroom observation, and their relations with 2 measures of cortisol activity, median (or typical) levels and reactivity (quartile range score between second and third quartile values) were explored. Cortisol-behavior relations differed by gender: significant associations were found for boys but not for girls. Specifically, for boys externalizing behavior was positively associated with cortisol reactivity, while internalizing behavior was negatively associated with median cortisol. Time of day of cortisol measurement affected the results. Surprisingly, median cortisol levels rose from morning to afternoon, a pattern opposite to that of the typical circadian rhythm of cortisol. This rise in cortisol over the day was positively correlated with internalizing behavior for boys. The methodological and theoretical implications of these findings for the study of the development of hormone-behavior relations are discussed.     

Women's sexual self-schema.

Sexual self-schemas are cognitive generalizations about sexual aspects of oneself that are derived from past experience, manifest in current experience, influential in the processing of sexually relevant social information, and guide sexual behavior. In Part 1, a measure of a cognitive self-view of women's sexuality was developed. The construct includes 2 positive aspects, an inclination to experience passionate–romantic emotions and a behavioral openness to sexual experience, and a negative aspect, embarrassment or conservativism, which may be a deterrent to sexual–romantic affects and behaviors. In Part 2, the role of sexual schema in intrapersonal and interpersonal aspects of sexuality was examined. In Part 3, a bivariate model was explored and 4 self-views (positive, co-schematic, aschematic, and negative) were proposed and compared. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Concurrent inhibition of sexual behavior, but not brain [–3H]estradiol uptake, by progesterone in female rats.

In 7 experiments with ovariectomized female Sprague-Dawley rats, chronic injections of high doses of progesterone (5 mg) and low doses of estradiol benzoate (EB; 2 μg) resulted in less sexual behavior than did low doses of progesterone (.5 mg) and low doses of EB. In a typical procedure for inducing sexual behavior, EB and progesterone were given sequentially, separated by 42 hrs. High levels of progesterone (2.5 and 5 mg) administered concurrently with EB inhibited the induction of sexual receptivity. Increasing the dose of EB from 2 μg to 6 μg or 10 μg offset this inhibition. High doses inhibited the induction of sexual behavior, but the inhibition waned when progesterone was administered 48 hrs prior to EB. A single injection of progesterone (1 mg) that did not inhibit the induction of sexual behavior when administered concurrently with EB did inhibit lordosis when distributed into 5 injections (.2 mg) every 4 hrs. Results of 2 experiments in which progesterone did not inhibit the uptake or retention of [–3H]estradiol by brain cell nuclei suggest that the antiestrogenic action of progesterone in the CNS is not to interfere with the binding of estradiol. (37 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual self-schema and sexual morbidity among gynecologic cancer survivors.

Longitudinal research indicates that approximately 50% of women treated for gynecologic cancer have sexual dysfunctions as they recover and become cancer survivors. This outcome occurs in the context of satisfactory quality of life in other domains. This study, comparing gynecologic cancer survivors (n?=?61) and gynecologically healthy women (n?=?74), documents the reliability of the latter observations with measures of quality of life (general, depressive symptoms, social contacts, and stress), sexual functioning, and health. Of added importance are analyses focused on variables that may predict risk for sexual morbidity. Specifically, sexual self-schema is tested as an important, sexually relevant individual difference. In regression analyses that controlled for estimates of precancer sexual behavior (intercourse frequency), extent of disease–treatment, and menopausal symptoms, sexual self-schema accounted for significant variance in predicting current sexual behavior and responsiveness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spousal loss predicts alterations in diurnal cortisol activity through prospective changes in positive emotion.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine the role of spousal bereavement and positive emotion in naturally occurring levels of daily cortisol. Methods: Analyses were conducted using data from the Midlife in the United States survey and the National Study of Daily Experiences. Baseline assessments of extraversion, neuroticism, trait positive emotion, and trait negative emotion were obtained, as were reports of demographic and health behavior covariates. Salivary cortisol levels were measured at wakeup, 30 min after awakening, before lunch, and at bedtime on each of 4 successive days. Results: Multilevel growth curve analyses indicated that independent of age, gender, education, extraversion, neuroticism, negative emotion, medication use, and smoking, spousal bereavement was associated with lower levels of cortisol at wakeup and a flattening of the diurnal cortisol rhythm. Mediation analyses revealed that prospective changes in positive emotion accounted for the impact of bereavement on diurnal cortisol slopes. Conclusion: The current prospective study is among the first to provide evidence for a role for positive emotion as a mechanism by which bereavement influences hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis dysregulation in older adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of pre- and postpubertal social experience on sexual and social behavior in male and female brown lemmings (Lemmus sibiricus).

In 3 studies, male and female brown lemmings were either isolated at weaning (18 days) or then housed with siblings for another 10 days before being isolated. Before testing for sexual behavior at the age of 75–103 days, half of each group of males received a series of exposures to estrous females and half of each group of females was housed with a stud male. The results of mating tests indicate that whereas prior sexual experience facilitated subsequent copulatory behavior in both sexes, prepubertal interactions subsequently facilitated contact social and sexual behavior in males but did not increase the behavioral scores of females, who engaged in high levels of sexual behavior regardless of prepubertal experience. The effect of prior copulatory activity on male sexual performance could not be attributed to increasing age (i.e., maturational processes) because the behavior of males tested once but at different ages did not differ appreciably. Prepubertal social interaction appeared to predispose males to benefit from sexual experience later in life. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elevated trajectories of externalizing problems are associated with lower awakening cortisol levels in midadolescence.

A growing body of research suggesting a negative association between basal levels of cortisol and persistent antisocial behavior has emerged. The present study examined relations between awakening cortisol levels and antisocial trajectories from ages 5 to 15 years among individuals in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Antisocial behavior was defined by semiparametric group modeling techniques, which revealed antisocial patterns parallel to Moffitt's (1993) taxonomy of antisocial trajectories. In contrast to the claim that biological diatheses are uniquely characteristic of individuals who demonstrate an early-onset pattern of antisocial behavior, our results suggest that individuals with elevated patterns of antisocial behavior between 5 and 15 years of age—irrespective of the timing of onset or desistance—are more likely to evidence lower awakening cortisol levels compared with individuals with persistently low levels of antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in freezing and cortisol in infant and mother rhesus monkeys

Freezing is an adaptive defensive behavior that is expressed in response to an imminent threat. In prior studies with rhesus monkeys, stable individual differences in animals' propensities to freeze have been demonstrated. To understand the factors associated with these individual differences, freezing behavior was examined in infant rhesus monkeys and their mothers, in conjunction with levels of the stress-related hormone cortisol. In both mothers and infants, basal cortisol levels were positively correlated with freezing duration. Additionally, the number of offspring a mother had was negatively correlated with her infant's cortisol level. These findings suggest a link between basal cortisol levels and an animal's propensity to freeze, as well as a mechanism by which maternal experience may affect infants' cortisol levels.     

Responses of female undergraduates to scenarios of sexual harassment by male professors and teaching assistants.

This study sought to identify some of the factors that lead to assertive responding to sexual harassment. Responses of 120 female undergraduates (aged 19–50 yrs) to hypothetical scenarios of sexual harassment by male professors or teaching assistants were investigated. Two situational variables (ambiguity of the behavior and harasser status) and 1 individual difference variable (coping style) were examined. Participants completed a coping inventory and a questionnaire containing 1 of 4 harassment scenarios, with measures of affect, perceptions of the instructor, acknowledgment of the behavior as sexual harassment, and behavioral responses at 2 stages. Less ambiguous harassment situations were associated with greater negative affect, acknowledgment of sexual harassment, and more assertive responding. Coping style, but not harasser status, was also related to response strategies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol consumption and sexual activity as reported with a diary technique.

Although alcohol is commonly viewed as a sexual disinhibitor, recent research has suggested that alcohol consumption does not consistently lead to increased sexual activity. Nonexperimental work in this area has commonly used correlational procedures that do not control for individual difference variables that may contribute to a drinking–sex relationship. This study examined the relationship of alcohol consumption to sexual behavior by way of within-Ss analyses of data from 99 men and women who kept daily diaries of drinking and sexual events over a 10-wk period. Alcohol consumption was associated with a general attenuation of sexual activity, with no effects on the occurrence of sexual behaviors that are risky in terms of AIDS transmission. These data suggest that sexual disinhibition and lapses in sexual judgment are not necessarily common consequences of alcohol consumption. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Apomorphine, deprenyl, and yohimbine fail to increase sexual behavior in rhesus males.

Various doses of apomorphine, deprenyl, and yohimbine were administered to old (20–26 years) rhesus males that had been sexually active when younger and to younger (6–17 years) males that were characteristically sexually sluggish. These neuropharmacological agents have been reported to increase sexual behavior in male rats. In Experiment 1, 10 old intact rhesus males were tested after injection of vehicle and apomorphine, and 6 old testosterone-treated castrated males were tested after treatment with deprenyl and yohimbine and the vehicles for each drug. In Experiment 2, the 5 younger males were tested after treatment with each of the drugs and with the vehicles for each drug. There were a few minor changes in behavior associated with certain doses of each of the drugs and as many depressive as facilitative effects on sexual behavior. This suggests that there are basic differences between rats and rhesus macaques in the systems mediating sexual behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of 17 beta-estradiol on serum hormone concentrations and estrous cycle in female Crl:CD BR rats: effects on parental and first generation rats

It has been proposed that short-term activation of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis, with a consequent increase in the secretion of cortisol, amy disrupt the endocrine events prior to ovulation and thereby impair reproduction in females. We investigated this concept in gilts in which oestrus was detected by introduction to boars, where intense physical contact is possible, or by applying pressure to the back of gilts (back-pressure test) during fence-line exposure to boars, where intense physical contact is prohibited. We expected that there would be a greater release of cortisol and that reproduction would be inhibited in gilts introduced to boars compared to gilts in which the back-pressure test was used. As expected, introduction of gilts to boars resulted in a significant transient increase in plasma concentrations of cortisol while there was no significant effect of using the back-pressure test on plasma cortisol. Nevertheless, introduction of gilts to boars did not impair reproduction and there was no effect of method of detecting oestrus on duration of oestrus, sexual receptivity, fertility or fecundity. The length of the oestrous cycle was decreased and ovulation rate increased in gilts that were introduced to boars compared to gilts that underwent the back-pressure test, indicating that introduction of gilts to boars may have stimulated these aspects of reproduction. These stimulatory effects may have been due to an increased exposure of gilts to sexual behaviour and stimuli from boars when introduced to boars and/or to stimulatory effects of the hypothalamo-pituitary adrenal axis on some aspects of reproduction.     

Development of a multi-item scale to quantitatively assess sexual behaviors and the transmission of high- and low-risk human papillomaviruses

BACKGROUND: Epidemiologic research is frequently hindered by the inherent difficulty in quantifying the risk of sexually transmitted disease (STD) acquisition associated with individual patterns of sexual behavior. GOAL OF THE STUDY: To develop a quantitative sexual behavior risk scale and demonstrate its predictive validity in an assessment of risk factors for incident infection with human papillomaviruses (HPVs). STUDY DESIGN: Data from a prospective study of HPV infection in female university students was used to generate quantitative multi-item sexual behavior scales which were used in Cox regression analyses. RESULTS: Although risk was incurred both in casual sexual encounters and in noncasual relationships, risk in these contexts were only weakly correlated. The construction of separate measurement scales was performed. CONCLUSIONS: Improved precision of measurement of STD risk demonstrated that significant risk was associated with different patterns of sexual behavior and was incurred in both casual and/or noncasual relationships. Scores on the sexual behavior risk scales were highly predictive of incident infection with HPV types of both high and low oncogenic potential.