CJHS Abstracts: Vol 20(1-2) 2011

The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality (CJHS)

Volume 20, Number 1-2, 2011
Sexual partner type taxonomy use among urban Black adolescent mothers LaRon E. Nelson¹, Dianne Morrison-Beedy², Margaret H. Kearney³, and Ann Dozier4 ¹ Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON ² College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Florida ³ School of Nursing, University of Rochester, New York 4 Department of Community & Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, New York Research on sexual-partner type has focused mostly on “main” and “casual” partner categories and has found, for example, that adolescent girls were less likely to use condoms with main partners and more likely to use condoms with casual partners. It is likely that adolescent mothers differ from other adolescents in having different types of sexual partners that cannot be simply characterized as main or casual. The purpose of the present qualitative study was to explore and describe the range and characterization of male sexual partner types reported by 31 Black, predominantly African-American, adolescent mothers aged 15 to 19. Data gathered in focus groups and interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Nine discrete sexual partner types were identified, including a unique partner type that was the biological father of the baby. These nine partner-types were characterized under three themes each of which had three corresponding partner types. The themes were (1) All main partners are not created equal, (2) They’re not casual partners because there are strings attached, and (3) Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am: No strings attached (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 1-10). Development of an HIV prevention and life skills program for Spanish-speaking gay and bisexual newcomers to Canada Barry D. Adam¹, Gerardo Betancourt², and Angel Serrano-Sánchez³ ¹ Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON and Ontario HIV Treatment Network, Toronto, ON ² Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, Toronto, ON ³ University of Windsor, Windsor, ON This article reports on the creation, implementation, and evaluation of a life skills and HIV prevention program for Spanish-speaking gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who had arrived in Canada in the prior three years. The Mano en Mano program consists of an initial day-long session followed by four two-hour evening sessions addressing HIV prevention, social isolation, social service, and migration issues. The evaluation indicated a significant shift toward safer sex practice and decreased sense of social isolation as expressed in exit interviews. The Mano en Mano intervention thus showed movement in the right direction in relation to HIV prevention and sexual health promotion with evidence of considerable potential to be effective and well liked by participants. Interventions of this type that build social networks and peer bonds in a sexual health context are likely to be useful and effective beyond the Latino newcomers who participated in this pilot program and study (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 11-18). A qualitative exploration of the meaning and experience of sexual desire among partnered women Denisa L. Goldhammer¹ and Marita P. McCabe¹ ¹ School of Psychology, Deakin University Melbourne, Australia This qualitative study explored the meaning and experience of sexual desire for women. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 40 partnered heterosexual women aged 20 to 61 years drawn from the general population. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts indicated that the participants understood and experienced their sexual desire primarily within the context of their partner relationships and most frequently reported responsive rather than autonomous experiences of sexual desire. The implications of the study findings are discussed in relation to the definition, classification, and treatment of sexual desire disorders in women (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 19-29). The association between sexual costs and sexual satisfaction in women: An exploration of the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction Kyle R. Stephenson¹ and Cindy M. Meston¹ ¹ The University of Texas at Austin Recent research has suggested that female sexual functioning may be strongly tied to sexual satisfaction in some cases and weakly tied in others. The Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS) constitutes a validated theoretical framework within which to explore this complex association. The aim of the current study was to explore whether sexual functioning represents an important sexual cost that is closely linked to sexual satisfaction, and for whom. Data from 200 female undergraduates were analyzed to determine if sexual functioning accounted for the association between sexual costs and sexual satisfaction in women and whether this indirect effect was dependent on adult attachment anxiety. We found a significant simple indirect effect wherein sexual functioning accounted for the association between sexual costs and sexual satisfaction for the sample as a whole. However, attachment anxiety moderated this indirect effect: sexual functioning accounted for the association between sexual costs and satisfaction for women reporting low levels of attachment anxiety, but not for women reporting high levels of attachment anxiety. These findings suggest that, depending on individual attachment orientation, difficulties with sexual functioning may or may not represent key sexual costs that are associated with levels of sexual satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 31-40). Experiences and perceptions of young adults in friends with benefits relationships: A qualitative study Angela D. Weaver¹, Kelly L. MacKeigan¹, and Hugh A. MacDonald¹ ¹ Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS Friends with Benefits Relationships (FWBRs) involve ongoing sexual activity occurring between partners who do not identify the relationship as romantic. Although preliminary research suggests that FWBRs may be common, little is known about how young adults experience these relationships. In the current study, semi-structured interviews were completed with 26 young adults with FWBR experience. Positive aspects of FWBRs included appropriateness for their life situation, safety, comfort and trust, gaining confidence and experience, closeness and companionship, freedom and having control, and easy access to sex. Negative aspects of FWBRs included getting hurt, ruining the friendship, and the relationship becoming complicated or awkward. FWBRs were characterized by limited direct communication between partners. Participants perceived little or no risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) within their FWBRs although 44% reported having additional sexual partners during their most recent FWBR and a third reported inconsistent or no condom use. A majority (77%) of the participants believed that a sexual double standard exists in which women are judged more negatively than men for participating in FWBRs (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 41-53).

Volume 20, Number 1-2, 2011

Sexual partner type taxonomy use among urban Black adolescent mothers

LaRon E. Nelson¹, Dianne Morrison-Beedy², Margaret H. Kearney³, and Ann Dozier4

¹ Lawrence S. Bloomberg Faculty of Nursing, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON
² College of Nursing, University of South Florida, Florida
³ School of Nursing, University of Rochester, New York
4 Department of Community & Preventive Medicine, University of Rochester, New York

Research on sexual-partner type has focused mostly on “main” and “casual” partner categories and has found, for example, that adolescent girls were less likely to use condoms with main partners and more likely to use condoms with casual partners. It is likely that adolescent mothers differ from other adolescents in having different types of sexual partners that cannot be simply characterized as main or casual. The purpose of the present qualitative study was to explore and describe the range and characterization of male sexual partner types reported by 31 Black, predominantly African-American, adolescent mothers aged 15 to 19. Data gathered in focus groups and interviews were transcribed and then analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Nine discrete sexual partner types were identified, including a unique partner type that was the biological father of the baby. These nine partner-types were characterized under three themes each of which had three corresponding partner types. The themes were (1) All main partners are not created equal, (2) They’re not casual partners because there are strings attached, and (3) Wham, bam, thank you, ma’am: No strings attached (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 1-10).

Development of an HIV prevention and life skills program for Spanish-speaking gay and bisexual newcomers to Canada

Barry D. Adam¹, Gerardo Betancourt², and Angel Serrano-Sánchez³

¹ Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology, University of Windsor, Windsor, ON and Ontario HIV Treatment Network, Toronto, ON
² Centre for Spanish Speaking Peoples, Toronto, ON
³ University of Windsor, Windsor, ON

This article reports on the creation, implementation, and evaluation of a life skills and HIV prevention program for Spanish-speaking gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) who had arrived in Canada in the prior three years. The Mano en Mano program consists of an initial day-long session followed by four two-hour evening sessions addressing HIV prevention, social isolation, social service, and migration issues. The evaluation indicated a significant shift toward safer sex practice and decreased sense of social isolation as expressed in exit interviews. The Mano en Mano intervention thus showed movement in the right direction in relation to HIV prevention and sexual health promotion with evidence of considerable potential to be effective and well liked by participants. Interventions of this type that build social networks and peer bonds in a sexual health context are likely to be useful and effective beyond the Latino newcomers who participated in this pilot program and study (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 11-18).

A qualitative exploration of the meaning and experience of sexual desire among partnered women

Denisa L. Goldhammer¹ and Marita P. McCabe¹

¹ School of Psychology, Deakin University Melbourne, Australia

This qualitative study explored the meaning and experience of sexual desire for women. Data were gathered through semi-structured interviews with 40 partnered heterosexual women aged 20 to 61 years drawn from the general population. Thematic analysis of the interview transcripts indicated that the participants understood and experienced their sexual desire primarily within the context of their partner relationships and most frequently reported responsive rather than autonomous experiences of sexual desire. The implications of the study findings are discussed in relation to the definition, classification, and treatment of sexual desire disorders in women (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 19-29).

The association between sexual costs and sexual satisfaction in women: An exploration of the Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction

Kyle R. Stephenson¹ and Cindy M. Meston¹

¹ The University of Texas at Austin

Recent research has suggested that female sexual functioning may be strongly tied to sexual satisfaction in some cases and weakly tied in others. The Interpersonal Exchange Model of Sexual Satisfaction (IEMSS) constitutes a validated theoretical framework within which to explore this complex association. The aim of the current study was to explore whether sexual functioning represents an important sexual cost that is closely linked to sexual satisfaction, and for whom. Data from 200 female undergraduates were analyzed to determine if sexual functioning accounted for the association between sexual costs and sexual satisfaction in women and whether this indirect effect was dependent on adult attachment anxiety. We found a significant simple indirect effect wherein sexual functioning accounted for the association between sexual costs and sexual satisfaction for the sample as a whole. However, attachment anxiety moderated this indirect effect: sexual functioning accounted for the association between sexual costs and satisfaction for women reporting low levels of attachment anxiety, but not for women reporting high levels of attachment anxiety. These findings suggest that, depending on individual attachment orientation, difficulties with sexual functioning may or may not represent key sexual costs that are associated with levels of sexual satisfaction. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 31-40).

Experiences and perceptions of young adults in friends with benefits relationships: A qualitative study

Angela D. Weaver¹, Kelly L. MacKeigan¹, and Hugh A. MacDonald¹

¹ Department of Psychology, St. Francis Xavier University, Antigonish, NS

Friends with Benefits Relationships (FWBRs) involve ongoing sexual activity occurring between partners who do not identify the relationship as romantic. Although preliminary research suggests that FWBRs may be common, little is known about how young adults experience these relationships. In the current study, semi-structured interviews were completed with 26 young adults with FWBR experience. Positive aspects of FWBRs included appropriateness for their life situation, safety, comfort and trust, gaining confidence and experience, closeness and companionship, freedom and having control, and easy access to sex. Negative aspects of FWBRs included getting hurt, ruining the friendship, and the relationship becoming complicated or awkward. FWBRs were characterized by limited direct communication between partners. Participants perceived little or no risk of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) within their FWBRs although 44% reported having additional sexual partners during their most recent FWBR and a third reported inconsistent or no condom use. A majority (77%) of the participants believed that a sexual double standard exists in which women are judged more negatively than men for participating in FWBRs (The Canadian Journal of Human Sexuality, 2011: 20, 41-53).

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