Journal of Sex Research最新文献

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to widespread disruptions in various aspects of life, including sexual well-being and satisfaction, with sexual minority men (SMM) facing unique challenges. Understanding the impact of the pandemic on their sexual satisfaction is crucial for addressing SMM-specific needs and promoting sexual well-being. This scoping review aimed to comprehensively examine the existing literature on sexual satisfaction and its associated factors among SMM during the pandemic. After a literature search and review from six electronic databases according to PRISMA guidelines, only n = 8 studies met the eligibility criteria. Findings suggested that the evidence on the impact of the pandemic on sexual satisfaction was mixed. While some studies suggested that COVID-19 facilitated a more rapid establishment of sexual relationships, others claimed that lockdown measures prevented individuals from seeking sexual partners, resulting in lower satisfaction with their sex life. Greater sexual satisfaction was associated with younger age, being in a relationship, and residing in a large urban center. Conversely, it was negatively associated with distress, loss of connections to friends and the queer community, and experiencing relationship conflict. We thus highlight the complex interplay between the COVID-19 pandemic and sexual satisfaction among SMM. Further research is warranted to explore longitudinal trends, investigate the mechanisms underlying the identified associations, and develop targeted services to mitigate negative impacts and enhance sexual satisfaction among SMM. There is also a pressing need for research in low- to middle-income settings, where pervasive stigma surrounding sex may heighten vulnerabilities of SMM.

College students frequently combine alcohol and sexual activity, often perceiving these encounters as consensual. However, alcohol use is also a significant risk factor for sexual assault. Recognizing that alcohol is implicated in both consensual and nonconsensual sexual activity, in this study we aimed to assess the relational and social dynamics of alcohol-involved, consensual sexual activity. We recruited 29 students from a large Midwestern university for interviews focused on alcohol and sexual decision-making. The interviews were analyzed using reflective thematic analysis. Participants relied heavily on "trust" to determine if they perceived an alcohol-involved sexual experience as consensual. They reported that they trusted their sexual partners not to harm them, with trust often based on contextual cues such as interacting with a potential partner at a party before having consumed alcohol or having a prior or current relationship with the potential partner. Additionally, college students reported trusting their friends to reduce harm during alcohol-involved sexual experiences and assist with deciphering their and/or their potential sexual partner's ability to consent. Overall, our participants seemed to use trust as a potential harm reduction strategy to navigate alcohol-involved sexual experiences so that they are consensual. Relying on others to assist in these moments can be beneficial and aligns with a community-based approach to preventing sexual assault. However, participants did not always acknowledge that their trusted friends or partners might also be intoxicated, potentially impairing their ability to assist. Our findings highlight the complexity of relying on intoxicated peers and partners for judgment in these contexts.

Media effects research has exploded across the social and behavioral sciences in recent years. Flagship psychology, sociology, political science, public health, and medical journals now regularly feature media effects scholarship, for example. This scholarly explosion has not included pornography effects research, however, which continues to overwhelmingly appear in specialty journals. This critical essay uses Google Trends data to buttress the argument that pornography is a massively popular media genre deserved of focal social and behavioral science research attention for a large number of pragmatic and theoretical reasons.

People disclose many aspects of their sexuality to close partners, such as their sexual attitudes, history, and behaviors, which is established to be beneficial for their own and their relationship well-being. However, evidence on the extent to which people engage in sexual self-disclosure and the predictors (i.e. facilitators or barriers) of sexual self-disclosure is currently inconsistent and inconclusive. A meta-analysis (k = 30, N = 9,239) on sexual self-disclosure identified a moderate-to-high level of disclosure of sexual attitudes and values, sexual difficulties, sexual history, sexual preferences, and solo-sexual behaviors. We identified 17 significant correlates of greater sexual self-disclosure, the strongest being greater sexual communication satisfaction, sexual assertiveness, and general self-disclosure. Our findings offer novel support for the theoretical claim that people seek to share important facets of their sexuality while retaining some privacy over their sexual information and suggest that people weigh the benefits against the costs of disclosing facets of their sexuality to their partners.

Minority stress theory suggests that shifts toward egalitarianism should reduce well-being disparities between heterosexual people and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and other sexual minorities (LGB+ people). However, few studies have examined well-being trends in these groups over periods of social change. We addressed this issue directly using a large nationwide random sample of New Zealand adults over thirteen years (from 2009 to 2022; N_total = 72,790; LGB+ n = 7,677). In doing so, we tracked people's well-being both before and in the years following major legal changes that increased LGB+ rights. Multigroup latent growth curve models revealed stable well-being differences between LGB+ and heterosexual participants across five domains of well-being, with little evidence of disparities reducing over time. Differences were most pronounced between younger LGB+ and heterosexual groups, with young LGB+ women and men reporting the lowest psychological and social well-being, respectively. These results highlight the need to further examine the impact of minority stress, as well as intersectional identities, on well-being among LGB+ populations.

Campus sexual assault is a common problem in the United States, and students are often reluctant to report or seek support from official sources such as campus police or their Title IX office. Instead, they typically seek support from informal sources such as the people they know and trust. One common, yet often unacknowledged, source of support is university faculty. Yet, faculty are not typically prepared by their institutions to handle student disclosures of sexual assault and, thus, find themselves performing an intense form of emotional labor without adequate tools. In this study, we explored the emotional labor that faculty invest in managing the trauma of campus sexual assault. From interviews with 17 (mostly women) faculty members with experience responding to student disclosures of sexual assault on 11 different campuses, we found that faculty engaged in what we call "emotional overtime." In the absence of adequate institutional training, faculty engaged in self-preparation to support student victim-survivors of sexual assault and subsequently sought personal support for the toll that this work had on their own well-being. We conclude with recommendations regarding how institutional acknowledgment of - and training for - this important work can benefit faculty and student victim-survivors alike.

Non-consensual sex poses a threat not only to sexual health but also to mental and physical health in general. HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) users might be particularly vulnerable to non-consensual sex because of interplaying factors such as mental health disorders, a high number of sex partners, engagement in chemsex, and the widespread use of dating apps. The objectives of this study were to assess the occurrence of non-consensual sex, its associated factors, and related help-seeking behavior among PrEP users. We analyzed data from an online survey among PrEP users in Belgium (09/2020-02/2022). Almost one in five participants (34/187, 18.2%) reported having ever experienced non-consensual sex. The most reported form was having sex against one's will, followed by having been given drugs against one's will, and having had sex without a condom against one's will. The vast majority of those who had experienced non-consensual sex (29/34, 85.3%) did not seek help afterward, mostly due to a lack of perceived need (21/29, 72.4%). Reported barriers to seeking help were shame (6/29, 20.7%) and lack of awareness of help services (3/29, 10.3%). Having experienced non-consensual sex in the past five years was associated with younger age and suicidal ideation in a multivariable logistic regression model. We conclude that addressing barriers to non-consensual sex help services is crucial to maximize their use and minimize the consequences of non-consensual sex experiences. PrEP consultations also represent an opportunity to offer such help given PrEP users are already familiar with these PrEP services and engaged in care.

The recent escalation of racism in the U.S. during the COVID-19 pandemic points to the importance of examining the association between experienced racism and sexual health. Based on data from a nationally representative survey conducted in the U.S. in October 2020 (n = 1,915), Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regressions were estimated to examine the association between experience of racism and changes in sex life during the pandemic. We further performed a causal mediation analysis using the bootstrap technique to assess the mediating role of psychological distress in the observed association between the experience of racism and changes in sex life. Among the respondents, the proportions reporting better, worse, or no change in sex life were, respectively, 15%, 21%, and 64%. Experiencing racial discrimination during COVID-19 was significantly associated with worsening sex life (adjusted odd ratio [AOR] = 1.53; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.04, 2.25). Respondents with experienced racism were also more likely to report psychological distress (AOR = 1.68; 95% CI = 1.09, 2.59). About one-third (32.66%) of the observed association between experienced racism and worsening sex life was mediated through psychological distress. Addressing racism and its association with psychological distress has the potential to improve sexual health and reduce related racial and ethnic disparities.

Sexual harassment affects a large percentage of higher education students in the US. A previous study identified several risk factors for sexual harassment using hurdle models and classification and regression tree (CART) analyses. The purpose of the present study was to assess the robustness of these findings by replicating the analyses with a new sample of students. Secondary data analysis was conducted using data from 9,552 students from two- and four-year colleges. Hurdle model coefficients were assessed for replicability based on statistical significance and consistency of the replication effect size relative to the original effect size. Kotzé et al.'s findings were robust, with 91% of all tested effects meeting at least one of two replication criteria in the hurdle models and 88% of the variables replicating in the CARTs. Being younger, consuming alcohol more frequently, attending a four-year college, and having experienced more prior victimization and adversity were important predictors of peer harassment whereas being LGBQ+ was an important predictor of sexual harassment from faculty/staff. These findings can inform targeted prevention and intervention programs. More research is needed to understand why certain demographic and contextual variables are associated with greater harassment risk.

Sexual aggression (SA) is a significant public health problem, with the majority of SA involving alcohol. The present study examined associations between alcohol expectancies for sexual enhancement, event-level alcohol use, and the likelihood of SA perpetration. Young, adult non-problem drinking men participated in a laboratory session and completed a background survey that included measures of alcohol expectancies. Subsequently, men completed 6-week and 3-month follow-up surveys in which they reported their sexual experiences each day during the intervening 6-week period using Timeline Followback procedures. The analytic sample consisted of the 421 men (Mage = 24.66, SD = 2.69) who reported having sex at least once during the follow-up period. Multilevel models showed a significant alcohol expectancies X alcohol use interaction at the between-person level: Controlling for time and alcohol expectancies for aggression, stronger alcohol expectancies for sexual enhancement were associated with greater SA perpetration likelihood among men who consumed high amounts of alcohol before sexual encounters but not among men who consumed low amounts. Alcohol prevention programs should consider addressing men's alcohol expectancies for sexual enhancement to reduce risk for SA perpetration.