Human Sexuality Course Research Articles

Changes in Sex Guilt, Premarital Sexual Intimacy Attitudes and Sexual Behavior during a Human Sexuality Course

Changes in Sex Guilt, Premarital Sexual Intimacy Attitudes and Sexual Behavior during a Human Sexuality Course

VD To STD: Redefining Venereal Disease

Charles E. Campbell EdD. is an associate professor, California State University, Long Beach, Health Science Department, where he teaches human sexuality courses in the graduate and undergraduate programs R. Jeffery Herten is an assistant clinical professor of dermatology, University of California, Irvine, where he teaches dermatology and venereology to undergraduates. He also conducts a private practice

Immediate Attitude Changes Associated with an Audiovisual Presentation on Human Sexuality

The semantic differential was used to survey the immediate impact on attitudes of 110 students enrolled in a human sexuality course before and after a four-hour audiovisual program. The audiovisual program contains patient interviews over a four-year time span, and documents the psychological, physical and relationship changes in a transsexual patient’s life. Students were asked to rate four types of persons (normal, diabetic, homosexual and transsexual) using the semantic differential. Significant changes occurred in the students’ ratings of persons who are transsexual or homosexual. Changes as a result of the educational session are in the direction of viewing transsexuality and homosexuality of a patient in a more positive manner and less judgmentally. Followup studies should be done to determine whether changes last.

Counseling and Human Sexuality: A Training Model

In recent years sexuality has been broadly defined as a fundamental dimension of personality. Mental health practitioners need to respond to the increased awareness of human sexuality as a vital aspect of personal development. To date, few programs or workshops assist mental health counselors in developing the necessary skills to confront sexual concerns in the counseling relationship. This article presents a counseling and human sexuality course model that provides counselors with an information base in human sexuality and assists them in exploring the emotional aspects of sexuality. This course model assumes that mental health counselors will provide a valuable service to their client populations once they have become more willing and able to explore sexual conflicts.

Out of the locker room and into the classroom: innovative approaches to the use of media and strategies in sex education for the deaf.

Human Sexuality has been an area sorely neglected in the education of the deaf. Until recently, visual materials and approaches designed for hearing populations have been adapted using either summarized or verbatim captioning. As part of the development of a college level Human Sexuality course at NTID, a film on contraception has been specially edited to include studio segments utilizing students and staff to underscore the important points made in the film. Because total communication was used and the entire film was captioned, students have shown an increased understanding of contraceptive methods and how they work, as demonstrated through class discussion and evaluation on a final exam. This film, on videotape format, will be shown as well as a presentation of experiential strategies used to explore both the content and affective areas related to Human Sexuality. These strategies address communication, values, relationships, the "how" and "why" of sex, and the development of positive attitudes towards negotiating a health/mental health/social service delivery system.

Lesbian women's perceptions of their parent-child relationships.

Twenty-six self-identified lesbian women and a comparison group of twenty-six heterosexual women, who were either students in a human sexuality course, members of the National Organization for Women, or volunteers from a women's center, were administered the short form of Schaefer's Child Report of Parental Behavior Inventory, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and an interview concerning family background relationships and sexual experiences and attitudes. Regression analysis revealed no significant family background variable or parental sex-role adherence variable that correlated with sexual orientation. Significant differences were found concerning sex-role adherence, with lesbian women being more masculinely sex-role typed than heterosexual women. Lesbian women were also found to be significantly more satisfied with their sex lives. It was concluded that there are no apparent family background variables that predict the development of a lesbian orientation.

Attitude change in a human sexuality course that de-emphasizes small group activities.

The attitudes of second-year medical students were measured to determine if positive attitude changes could be obtained in a human sexuality course that de-emphasized small group activities. Students were given a semantic differential instrument and were asked to rate four concepts related to human sexuality: (a) my sexuality, (b) masturbation, (c) homosexuality, and (d) my role in understanding sexual problems. Significant changes in student attitudes were reported at the 0x05 level for the concept, my sexuality; at the 0x01 level for the concept, my role in understanding sexual problems; and at the 0x001 level for the concepts, homosexuality and masturbation. Females had more positive attitudes (P < 0x001), pre and post, towards homosexuality than did males. No significant differences were found between married and single students.

Sexuality and the disabled: Implications for the sex education of medical students

Analyses of course evaluation data collected from medical students taking a required course in human sexuality indicate that presentations on the topic of sex and disability, by individuals who are themselves physically disabled, are perceived as being the most effective component of the course. A consideration of various explanations for these results led to the conclusion that couses in human sexuality for medical students should be expanded in scope to include discussion of the contribution which stereotypical sex role behaviors and the “masculine” nature of current medical practice make to the delivery of sexual health care.

Locus of Control and Human Sexuality Education

In a review of the research on the dimension Locus-of-Control, Phares (3) concluded that internal subjects are superior to external subjects in efforts to gain control over their environment. Similarly, MacDonald ( 2 ) reported that among sexually active female college students, 62% of the internal subjects utilized some form of contraceptive method compared with 37% of the external subjects. One of the tenets of Health Education is that through education for personal health one becomes motivated toward assuming responsibility for personal health. This should apply to courses on human sexuality within Health Education curricula Taking such a course would be expected to promote a shift in students' locus-of-control toward greater internality. This paper repons results of such an exploratory investigation, based on students who were enrolled in an undergraduate course in human sexuality. Students (N = 50) , enrolled in the 15-wk. course as a general education elective, represented a cross section of major fields of undergraduate concentration at the University. The course is designed to introduce students to fundamental concepts concerning sexual behavior in modern society. Ethical issues and personal decision-making skills are emphasized. To control for evolution of locus-of-control over time, 25 students not enrolled in a human sexuality course were randomly selected as a comparison group ( 4 ) . Locus-of-control was measured on Levenson's scale ( 1 ) . All the students completed the instrument during the first week of classes and again during Week 14. At the pretest the mean scores and SDs for the subjects in the sexualicy course were -10.6, 5.5; 6.02, 6.7; and 6.22, 6.7; for the Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance parameters, respectively. Pretest mean scores and SDs for the comparison group were -10.0, 5.0; 6.30, 6.7; and 6.50, 6.7, respectively. At Week 14 the means and SDs for the sexuality course were -12.32, 5.1; 3.98, 6.7; and 5.48, 7.0, while the comparison group's scores were -9.50, 5.0; 5.30, 6.7; and 6.0, 6.9. At the pretest, z for the differences between the sexuality classes and comparison group were -.43, -.17, and -.I7 for the Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance parameters, respectively. None of these values of z are statistically significant ( p = .05). At the posttest, the zs were -2.24, -.79, and -3.0, respectively. The Internal dimension z was statistically significant ( p < .05) and represents a change toward greater internality. At the end of the term, then, students in the course on sexuality differed from the comparison group in one aspect of their locus-of-control orientation. The shifts toward greater internality may indicate that the course does in fact influence students toward reporting greater control over their sexual behavior. However, the stability of this phenomenon in this and other areas should be assessed. It is not known whether the shifts reflect the process of Ode-mystification of sexual response, the instructional method which emphasized ethics and decision-making, or something else. The primary unresolved issue, however, is whether shifts in locus-of-control are related to subsequent sexual behavior. Replication of this study and further investigation are needed.

The evolution of a course in human sexuality University of Edinburgh, 1972-1978.

A short undergraduate course in human sexuality has been developed over a period of 7 years. The objectives, initially concerned with cognitive learning, shifted to affective aspects of the topic, introduced through a format of sexually explicit films and small-group discussions. Continuing evaluation of successive courses by students has been particularly valuable in identifying helpful and unhelpful behaviour in group leaders, and has been used in their training. The evaluations also demonstrated that students saw a need to develop their interviewing skills. The course, therefore, now seeks to combine affective learning with other topics of direct relevance to clinical practice.

Sex Differences in Attitudes &amp; Behavior of College Students Following a College Level Course on Human Sexuality

Students on a Connecticut College campus were studied in 1973 using a 26 item questionnaire concerning sexual attitudes and behavior. The same questionnaire was administered in January of 1976 to a control group of students in a general psychology course and to an experimental group consisting of students in a psychology course in human sexuality. The questionnaire was readministered to both groups at the end of the semester, in May. The 1973 responses and the pre-test of both groups showed sex differences on several items. These differences were generally caused by responses on the part of about 15 to 20% of the males surveyed which endorsed the traditional dual standard. While the responses for the control group on the post-test remained unchanged, the sex differences apparent on the pre-test disappeared on the post-test for the experimental group. It was concluded that college level courses in human sexuality can be effective in changing attitudes on human sexuality especially vis-a-vis male attitudes concerning the traditional dual standard.

A human sexuality course for Oxford University medical students.

A human sexuality course for clinical students in Oxford was held based on the format of similar courses held in the U.S.A. with one-and-a-half days of films and lectures followed by discussion in small groups. The course was largely successful and evaluation of attitudes and knowledge revealed that significant preliminary changes resulted. Students who failed to complete the course had more inhibited attitudes towards sexuality and less sexual information compared with those who attended the whole course. Advice is given to those intending to hold such a course elsewhere, including how more inhibited students, who probably are most in need of such teaching, might be encouraged to participate.

Trends in Sexual Attitudes and Behavior Among Selected College Students

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to indicate trends regarding sexual attitudes and behavior among a college aged population over a five year period. The use of trend data over a period of years is particularly useful for educators in general and health educators in particular. This knowledge could assist educators in the area of human sexuality with respect to appropriate content, methodology and duration for their instructional program. Data were collected on 434 students during the five year period of investigation. Men and women were equally represented. Analysis was conducted on the total group as well as on each sex. Results indicated students enrolled in human sexuality courses primarily for intrinsic rather than extrinsic motives. Student expectations indicated a preference for a social or behavioral science approach rather than a biologic or physiological oriented approach. Fewer students believed that a sexual revolution had occurred. During the five year study period, rates of premarital in...

The Impact of a College Course in Human Sexuality upon Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

Students taking this course showed a shift to more liberal attitudes, but they reported no change in sex behavior interactions.

The Sex Knowledge and Attitude Test (SKAT).

The Sex Knowledge and Attitude Test (SKAT) was designed to measure knowledge, attitudes and degree of experience in a variety of sexual behaviors, and to be used as a teaching and research instrument. The SKAT has been administered to over 35,000 students, approximately two-thirds of whom have been medical students. SKAT has served two major objectives: to measure changes in knowledge and attitudes after a course or program in human sexuality and to demonstrate the deficiencies of medical and nursing education in preparing health professionals to aid patients with sexual problems. Additional types of research using the SKAT are suggested.

A longitudinal study of the effects of a university human sexuality course on sexual attitudes

Abstract This study tested the hypotheses that students taking a university human sexuality course will have different attitudes over a 2‐year period than students not taking such a course, and more accepting attitudes toward the sexual behaviors of others, over a 2‐year period, than toward their own sexual behavior. Sexual attitudes of 127 human sexuality class students and 114 control class students at the University of Northern Iowa were measured at the beginning of class (pretest), the end of class (posttest), and 2 years after the end of class (follow‐up). There were no pretest differences between the treatment and control groups in university classification, marital status, political affiliation, religious affiliation, sex, age, grade point average, or sexual attitudes. Both hypotheses were supported. Human sexuality students developed more accepting attitudes and became more accepting of behaviors for others compared to behaviors for self. Control group students developed less accepting attitudes a...

Sexual Knowledge and Attitudes of Israeli Medical Students as Compared to American Medical Students

In order to construct a Human Sexuality Course more suitable for the specific needs of Israeli medical students, a national study on their sexual knowledge and attitudes was performed using the Sex...

The Way we Teach: Human Sexuality

Three years ago I was invited to start a course in human sexuality at St George's Hospital Medical School with the support of the Nuffield Foundation. It was based on my four previous years of experience teaching this subject in the USA at the University of Pennsylvania Medical School. The original course at St George's consisted of one whole-day and 11 two-hour sessions, given at weekly intervals for 15 fifth-year medical students during their obstetrics and gynaecology or psychiatry rotation (Stanley 1977).

Small-Group Process in Teaching Human Sexuality

Although the majority of graduate schools of social work now offer at least one course in human sexuality, too often instructors lean heavily on a lecture approach. The authors contend that this approach does not adequately meet students' needs. They suggest using the small-group process to deal more effectively with the three basic elements of such a course: knowledge base, affective component, and specific skills of assessment and treatment.

An introduction to sexuality in the medical curriculum.

An educational procedure is described for increasing comfort and clinical objectiveness when interviewing patients with sexual problems. It is based on the viewing of sexually explicit films interspersed with small group discussions. Judging from questionnaires completed by 329 students in four British medical schools, most felt that the procedure had benefited them both personally and professionally, and that it provided a good foundation for a course in human sexuality.