Sexuality Course Research Articles

Breaking the taboo: an exploration of female university students' experiences of attending a feminist‐informed sex education course

This article presents the results of a qualitative interview study of nine young women who attended a feminist‐informed human sexuality course as undergraduate students at a US university located in the ‘Bible belt’. The course focused on messages of desire and empowerment, rather than romance or fear, and was designed to encourage students to think critically about current sexual discourses. Results indicate that participants' information on sexual issues prior to taking the course was limited and largely negative. Experiences of the course are described in themes including owning sexual desire, improved body image, reduced guilt and fear, and increased confidence as a woman. It is concluded that sex education may be used to help empower female students and enrich their quality of life; current educational practices should therefore be examined for ways in which they are oppressive to development.

Vaccins prophylactiques antipapillomavirus : enjeux et perspectives

Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is established as the necessary cause of cervical precancers and cancers. To date, more than 120 genotypes are known, but only high risk oncogen genotypes could induce a cancer. HPV 16 and 18 are implied in nearly 70% of cervical cancer around the world. Although some persistent HPV infections progress to cervical cancer, host immunity is generally able to clear most HPV infections providing an opportunity for cervical cancer prevention through vaccination. Candidate prophylactic vaccines based on papillomavirus L1 virus-like particles (VLPs) are currently on human clinical trials: one targeting cervical cancer with a bivalent VLP L1 vaccine containing the two genotypes most frequently involved in cervical cancer (type 16 and 18) and the other, protecting against warts as well as cervical cancer, with a quadrivalent HPV VLP L1 vaccine containing genotypes 6, 11, 16 and 18. The first clinical trials revealed the satisfactory tolerance and excellent immunogenicity of these vaccines inducing high serum antibody titers with minimal side effects. After more than three years, both clinical trials on women 15 to 25 years old have shown that vaccines are able to type specifically protect against nearly 90% of infection and all cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia. The vaccinal strategy defined to date targets preadolescents and adolescent young females (11-13 years) before the first sexual course but some questions are still not resolved concerning the prescriber, the actors of the vaccination and the duration of the protection. Nevertheless cervical cancer screening should be carried on for many years, even if a large vaccinal strategy is decided. Such a vaccine would save lives and reduce the need for costly medical procedures and the psychological stress induced by this cancer.

The Effect of Sexuality Course on Sex - Role Stereotypes and Sexual Attitude in University Students

Purpose : The purpose of this study was 1) to classify university student's attitudes toward sex, 2) to confirm the effects of sexuality course on sex-role stereotypes and sexual attitude in university student s. Method : The subjects in this study were 212 K university students in Kangwon Province between 3/7/2001 6/13/2001. The instruments used for this study were the general characteristics, sexual attitude and sex-role stereotypes. The data was analyzed by frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, paired t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficients, Factor analysis and Cronbach's using the SPSS program. Result : 1. University students' attitude toward sex are divided into three types. Type I are called open mined : 16, 33, 28, 10, 18, 2, 30, 25, 26, 27, 22, 19, 29, 21, 9, 5 items. Type II are supporters of virginal purity : 8, 6, 31, 17, 14, 33 items. Type III express love through sexual intercourse : 20, 24, 7, 3, 15, 32 items. 2. There was a significant difference in the appearance and occupational characteristics of sex-role stereotypes before and after the sexuality course (t=2.562, p

The Impact of a Human Sexuality Course on Anti-Gay Prejudice

Abstract The impact of a human sexuality course on students' attitudes about homosexuality was investigated by comparing undergraduate human sexuality students' homonegativity pretest and posttest measures with a comparison group of undergraduate child psychology students. Beyond the main effects for gender and course content on attitudes, there were significant interactions between (a) course and time, (b) course and gender, and (c) gender and time: only female students in the human sexuality course showed decreased anti-gay prejudice at the end of the semester. Furthermore, analyses revealed that women's decrease in homonegativity did not occur immediately after exposure to course material, but rather was delayed until the end of the semester. Suggestions for decreasing anti-gay prejudice within the classroom are provided.

Early American Sexuality: Race, Colonialism, Power, and Culture

My class explores the relationship of sexuality to the process of colonization in early North America. While traditional colonial American history courses establish the British colonies as precursors to a Great American Nation, and history of sexuality courses in the United States often emphasize the twentieth century, I focus on sexuality as part of the creation of multiple North American societies from the sixteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries. Throughout the course, I ask students to trace the ways in which cultural ideologies about religion, race, class, gender, and culture related to sexual beliefs and practices. My goals are to have students think both about the modern political and social implications of the history of sexuality and about the ways in which the study of sexuality reshapes our image of a given historical time and place. I have taught versions of “History of Sexuality in the United States to 1860,” cross-listed in History and Women’s Studies at the University of California, Irvine in 2000 and 2001, and cross-listed in History and Sexuality Studies at the University of Iowa in 1998. It is an upper-level lecture course with between forty and fifty students. I teach the class in two weekly sessions of eighty minutes each, where I give interactive lectures for about fifty minutes and spend the remaining thirty minutes discussing that day’s readings with the class. I use a course pack with a wide array of primary and secondary sources. In the past few years, multiple anthologies that address sexuality in early America have hit the shelves (Martha Hodes, ed., Sex,

Reducing College Students' Homophobia, Erotophobia, and Conservatism Levels Through a Human Sexuality Course

Homophobia is the irrational fear and hatred of homosexual individuals. Results from studies indicate that exposure to and interaction with gay men and lesbians via a college human sexuality course can decrease homophobia levels. More specifically, it has been demonstrated that educational interventions such as panels of gay individuals and information from textbooks, lectures, and classroom discussions serve to positively transform attitudes toward homosexuality. The purpose of this study was to replicate and expand our knowledge in this area. This investigation was designed to examine changes in students' levels of homophobia, erotophobia, and sexual conservatism in relation to educational interventions. A total of 109 participants from a large Midwestern university completed the following questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire, the Sexual Opinion Survey, the Derogatis Information subscale, the Derogatis Attitude subscale, the Homophobia scale, and the Bern Sex Role Inventory. Results revealed that students' homophobia, erotophobia, and sexual conservatism levels were significantly less after participation. This study has implications for the elimination of barriers and stereotypes through the acquisition of greater knowledge and personal contact in a college human sexuality course.

Does Sexuality Education Last? Self-Reported Benefits of a High School Comprehensive Sexuality Education Course

Studies of the benefits of high school sexuality education often focus on risk reduction and behavior changes in terms of unplanned pregnancy and STDs directly following or a few months after a sexuality education course. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceived long-term effect, if any, of a high school comprehensive sexuality education course. Participants were former students who graduated from high school between 1980 and 1995 and took a comprehensive sexuality education course during their senior year. Three sets of data collected through a Likert scale, short-answer questionnaire, and personal interviews were triangulated to look at participants' descriptions of the impact of the sexuality education course. Findings suggest that participants believe their high school sexuality course had a long-term impact on their lives. Themes observed through each level of data collection included self-exploration, increased self-efficacy relating to skills of sexual health, increased knowledge, and...

They Were the Best of Times and the Worst of Times: Students Write About Their Sexual Experiences

The author developed an educational activity illustrating the variety of sexual experiences that participants identify as highly positive and highly negative. Participants write and submit a brief narrative of what they identify as their best sexual experience and a narrative that describes their worst sexual experience. Responses are shared through an in-class activity with a number of safeguards that guarantee anonymity of responses. Students in human sexuality courses consistently rate this in-class activity as among their most memorable and fun learning experiences. This activity can be adapted, as appropriate, for other training and educational purposes.

Behavioral Impact of a Human Sexuality Course

Prior research on the effects of sex education has demonstrated changes in the participants' knowledge and attitudes. What is less clear, and yet more significant, is whether knowledge translates to meaningful behavior change. A 43-item questionnaire was administered to students enrolled in two different, but consecutive, semesters of an undergraduate course in human sexuality. The study utilized a quasi-experimental cohort design and included two construct control measures in the questionnaire. Contrary to the fears generated by critics of sex education, there was no evidence that participating in the course somehow encouraged sexual experimentation. A disappointing finding of the study was that the course did not have significant impact upon students in terms of reducing risk behaviors. An essential element to risk behavior change is threat personalization; most of these students did not perceive themselves to be at risk for contracting any STD, including HIV. Although most of the students did not repor...

From the Top Down and from the Bottom Up

Abstract This paper documents the process of integrating and institutionalizing academic service-learning into university, department, and program curriculum. First, we briefly define academic service-learning. Second, we discuss how academic service-learning is being institutionalized into our university community. Third, we discuss how we have integrated service-learning into our Family and Consumer Sciences curriculum. We conclude by illustrating how academic service-learning has been integrated into our Family Studies program by using a parent education course, our Family Studies club, and a human sexuality course as examples. The successes and difficulties of integrating academic service-learning into course curriculum are highlighted.

An established medical school human sexuality curriculum: description and evaluation

The human sexuality course at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is unique with respect to its goals, structure, content and format. It provides a comprehensive and concentrated opportunity for students to become knowledgeable and comfortable in dealing with a critical though sensitive aspect of human behavior - one that is typically shrouded in myth, misinformation, controversy and prejudice. No single department or discipline can address all aspects of human sexuality and adequately address the material that must be covered. One of the greatest strengths of the course is its interdisciplinary focus and its emphasis on case-based and experiential learning. Student evaluations suggest that the course is successful in promoting greater comfort, increased knowledge and more tolerance and respect for individuals with different life styles and sexual beliefs. Many have also privately asserted that it has added immeasurably to their personal lives.

An established medical school human sexuality curriculum: Description and evaluation

The human sexuality course at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School is unique with respect to its goals, structure, content and format. It provides a comprehensive and concentrated opportunity for students to become knowledgeable and comfortable in dealing with a critical though sensitive aspect of human behavior - one that is typically shrouded in myth, misinformation, controversy and prejudice. No single department or discipline can address all aspects of human sexuality and adequately address the material that must be covered. One of the greatest strengths of the course is its interdisciplinary focus and its emphasis on case-based and experiential learning. Student evaluations suggest that the course is successful in promoting greater comfort, increased knowledge and more tolerance and respect for individuals with different life styles and sexual beliefs. Many have also privately asserted that it has added immeasurably to their personal lives.

Electronic Sex Talk: The Uses and Dynamics of Computer-Mediated Discussion Groups in a Team-Taught Human Sexuality Class

This paper is a case study of the effectiveness of a computer-mediated, discussion group gequirement in meeting some of the challenges of the teaching-learning process in a human sexuality course. Data collected from students enrolled in a team-taught, human sexual behavior course provide information both about the value and limitations of required computermediated discussion groups, and some of the unique dynamics of electronic discourse. Overall, the data show that the addition of the electronic requirement to this course was an effective pedagogical strategy that provided students with a safe place to talk about sex, that is, to discuss, argue, rethink and reevaluate their attitudes and opinions, and to receive encouragement and support from one another.

A Postmodern Feminist Approach to Teaching Human Sexuality

Postmodern feminist theory provides a valuable perspective for designing and teaching human sexuality courses. The utility of this approach is explained and strategies for helping students understand a constructivist framework presented. The theory is put into action, and the following course goals are addressed: (a) shift from a problem‐oriented to a strengths approach, (b) provide information and skills that are relevant and useful, (c) expand students' thinking about diversity, and (d) help students maximize their own sexual health and minimize exploitation of themselves and others. The article concludes with a discussion of pedagogical and ethical challenges of teaching from a postmodern feminist perspective.

YOUNG WESTERN WOMEN'S EXPERIENCES OF MENARCHE AND MENSTRUATION

A qualitative approach was used to examine young women's experiences of menarche and menstruation that were included in personal stories of growing up sexually. The personal experiences were examined by cross-case analysis to learn more about the narrators' attitudes toward menarche and their menstrual-related education. This was a secondary analysis using data collected for a study of common themes in the stories gathered in a 1998 study by Beausang. The data came from 332 stories written by students taking a sexuality course in a Midwestern community college. Of 227 stories written by women, 85 stories included menstrual experiences. Eleven narrators described menarche as a positive experience. In 10 of these stories, the mother was the primary teacher. The two most frequently identified sources of information by narrators were mothers and schoolteachers, with most narrators having a primarily negative view of their menstrual education regardless of the source. Problems with menstrual-related education were described as perceptions of unwillingness by teachers to discuss menstruation, time limits for education, unclear instruction leading to misconceptions, and the presence of peers in group learning situations that lead to embarrassment.

SEXUALITY AND AGING: A TIMELY ADDITION TO THE GERONTOLOGY CURRICULUM

This article highlights the importance of including a sexuality and aging course as a separate offering in the curriculum of a master s of arts in human development and gerontology program. Despite growing interest and literature in the field, there have been few attempts to integrate sexuality into course curricula. Descriptions of an initial pilot course and the follow-up elective course; a critical review of the literature, including comments; student evaluations; and suggestions for future course content are presented. The article critically discusses specific books and articles that are most relevant and appropriate and describes the limitations of the selected literature. Recommendations for course development, educators, and future research are discussed.

Computer-assisted instruction: an effective instructional method for HIV prevention education?

%Purpose: To compare the effectiveness of a computer-assisted instruction (CAI)-based intervention to a more traditional lecture-based intervention for influencing psychosocial correlates of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) preventive behaviors. Methods: Students enrolled in a Human Sexuality course (N = 152) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: CAI, Lecture, or No Intervention group. Participants in the CAI group reviewed a 1-hour long CAI program, participants in the Lecture group were presented with a 1-hour long lecture, and participants in the No Intervention group received no intervention. After completing the respective interventions, all participants completed the HIV questionnaire, which measured selected Social Cognitive Theory constructs associated with HIV preventive behaviors. MANCOVA, ANCOVA and Post Hoc analyses were utilized to test for significant differences among the three groups. Results: The analyses disclosed that, compared to participants in the Lecture group, participants in the CAI group scored significantly higher on the scales measuring autoimmune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) knowledge, self-evaluative outcome motivation, and intention to practice HIV preventive behaviors with current partner. In addition, compared to the No Intervention group, the CAI group scored significantly higher on the scales measuring physical outcome motivation and social outcome motivation. Conclusions: CAI-based programs can be effective for delivering instruction on HIV prevention. However, because of certain limitations, this type of program is best utilized as part of a more comprehensive intervention that uses several different delivery systems.

Creating Internet Assignments: A Guide for Health Educators

Use of the Internet as a teaching methodology has gained increased attention among educators. An Internet teaching application is explored in the use of an “Internet Find” assignment in a University Human Sexuality course. An explanation of how to create an Internet assignment is provided and an excerpt from the assignment is included. On-line resources for learning how to use the Internet and how to use HyperText Markup Language are offered to assist individuals interested in using the Internet as teaching tool.

A Comparative Survey of Beliefs About “Normal” Childhood Sexual Behaviors

Objective: This study sought to collect data on what adults believe constitutes normal childhood sexual behaviors, and how variables, such as role, gender, and life experience might contribute to the formation of one’s beliefs. Methods: A survey describing 20 different scenarios of children under the age of 13 interacting with themselves or other children in a sexual manner was administered to four groups of adults: sexual abuse experts; therapists involved in a sexual abuse training program; medical students attending a human sexuality program; and group facilitators of the human sexuality program. Results: Behaviors that involved oral, vaginal, or anal penetration were judged by a majority of adults to be abnormal sexual behaviors in children under 13 years of age. Professionals working with sexually abused children rated certain sexual behaviors as more abnormal than adults participating in a human sexuality course. Both sexual abuse trainees and facilitators of the human sexuality course showed more directional biases than other groups, with trainees always rating behaviors in the direction of abnormal and facilitators always rating behaviors in the direction of normal. Females also judged many of the sexual behaviors to be more abnormal than males. Conclusions: Role and gender significantly influence what adults believe constitutes normal and abnormal childhood sexual behavior.

Training For Sexuality Educators: Losing Ground?

During the past twenty-five years, professional preparation of sexuality educators has not kept pace with the demand for high quality sexuality education. Teachers in training are not being adequately prepared to teach sexuality and HIV / AIDS education. Those who teach these subjects, the majority of whom do not identify themselves as sexuality educators, have often not taken academic sexuality courses or in-service programs on sexuality Few states have training or certification requirements, and there are fewer opportunities for continuing education in the field. Given these restrictions, we can still improve teacher training, work to require certification, and do more to encourage the nurturing of young professionals.