BACKGROUND Little is known about how condoms and other contraceptives influence women's sexual enjoyment, which could shape use patterns. METHODS Data from an online study of women's sexual health and functioning were used to examine how three categories of contraceptive use - hormonal method only, condoms primarily, and dual use - could help predict decreased sexual pleasure associated with ...

BACKGROUND There is scanty evidence regarding the impact of parenting practices on young people's sexual risk-taking in sub-Saharan Africa. Moreover, the extent to which such practices have enduring consequences on adolescents and young adults is little documented. This study uses repeated measures of parent-child relationships, parental monitoring, and parent-child communication about sexual m...

In the present study, we examined a bidimensional model of acculturation (which includes both heritage and U.S. practices, values, and identifications) in relation to hazardous alcohol use, illicit drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, and impaired driving. A sample of 3,251 first- and second-generation immigrant students from 30 U.S. colleges and universities completed measures of behavioral accul...

BACKGROUND Youth who begin early pre-marital sexual activity are more likely to be engaged in unsafe sex. Early sexual debut puts them at increased risk for acquiring or transmitting sexually transmitted infections, including HIV; and makes them highly vulnerable to unwanted pregnancy and its consequences. This study was conducted to assess premarital sexual practices and its predictors among i...

As psychiatrists, we seek to understand and foster mental health in relation to many aspects of life, including intimate life and the deeply personal domain of sexuality. In this special issue of Academic Psychiatry, we take a careful look at psychiatry’s role in teaching medical students, psychiatric residents, and colleague physicians about human sexuality and the sexual concerns that arise i...

BACKGROUND Primary care is an important provider of sexual health care in England. We sought to explore the extent of testing for chlamydia and HIV in general practice and its relation to associated measures of sexual health in two contrasting geographical settings. METHODS We analysed chlamydia and HIV testing data from 64 general practices and one genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinic in Bren...

OBJECTIVES To measure health norms and assess their influence on behavior among 2541 employees in 16 manufacturing worksites using an adapted Jackson's Return Potential Model (RPM). METHODS Worksite-level norm intensity, crystallization, and normative power were calculated for several behaviors; linear regression analyses tested whether normative power was related to each health behavior. R...

A quality improvement project for implementing safe sleep practices (SSP) was conducted at a large, U.S children's hospital. The intervention involved education of staff and standardization of infant sleep practices utilizing a multifaceted approach. Staff surveys and environmental audits were conducted pre- and post-intervention. Safe Sleep Environment (SSE) audits showed an improvement from 2...

INTRODUCTION We aimed to determine differences in sexual practices, HIV sexual risk behaviors, and HIV risk profile of adolescents and young persons' in rural and urban Nigeria. METHODOLOGY We recruited 772 participants 15 to 24 years old from urban and rural townships in Nigeria through a household survey. Information on participants' socio-demographic profile (age sex, residential area, num...