Methods Used and Topics Addressed in Quantitative Health Research on Gay,Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Research on sexual minority men (gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men) was examined with regard to the measures of sexual orientation used, the methods of research, and the main health outcomes under study. A systematic review of English-language quantitative studies was conducted focused on the health of sexual minority men published in 2010 (n = 250). The results provide a snapshot of the literature and revealed that research on sexual minority men overwhelmingly focused on HIV, STIs, and sexual health for which sexual orientation was most commonly defined behaviorally. For topics of mental health or body/fitness outcomes, sexual orientation was most commonly defined by identity. Most study samples were venue-based, and only 8.8% of published papers drew data from population-based samples. The findings suggest that there exists a need for research on sexual minority men’s health beyond STIs and HIV that will examine mental and physical health outcomes beyond sexual risk, uses probability-based samples, and addresses intersectional concerns related to race/ethnicity and age.     

NIVAH: a composite index measuring violence and harm in the U.S.

The National Index of Violence and Harm (NIVAH) tracks levels of violence and harm in the United States and identifies trends over the study period 1995–2003. NIVAH is comprised of nineteen variables in the areas of interpersonal, intrapersonal, institutional and structural violence and harm as experienced by people in the U.S. Two composite indexes are formed to describe overall trends in the realms of personal and societal violence. In addition to describing the Index’s construction and most recent conclusions, various methodological issues and their impacts on index findings are investigated.

Effects of School-Based Risk and Protective Factors on Treatment Success Among Youth Adjudicated of a Sexual Crime

Youth with sexually problematic behaviors are impacted by the reciprocal interplay between individual characteristics and the key social and ecological systems in which they are embedded. The paucity of research on protective factors mitigating risks within various socioecological systems is of concern, as the school is one such system that has been overlooked. This study retroactively investigated probation files among youth who were adjudicated of a sexual crime (N = 85) to determine how school-level variables are associated with treatment completion. A sequential logistical regression model revealed reduced odds for school-based risk factors and a greater proportion of variance explained when school-based protective factors were included. Implications and research considerations are discussed.     

Planktonic algae abundance and diversity are similar in urban stormwater ponds of different geographic locations and natural shallow lakes

Elevated levels of different contaminants are typical to stormwater management ponds. Despite that, a number of works report stormwater ponds serving as habitats for a variety of biota. In this study we aimed to examine phytoplankton communities of urban ponds, as the basis of the aquatic food web, and compare them to those of natural shallow lakes. Stormwater ponds were selected from two distant geographic locations: three in Denmark and three in Canada. As a reference to natural systems, three Danish shallow lakes were sampled. The sampling was carried out in the spring, summer and fall of 2014. The phytoplankton communities in ponds were found to be at least as rich in taxa as natural shallow lakes. Their abundance and biovolume varied highly among the types of water bodies as well as in each pond or lake individually, depending on the sampling month. We did not find any significant differences among ponds and natural shallow lakes at the investigated taxonomic level, despite some distinction observed by multivariate DCA and CCA analyses. Little difference was found between Canadian and Danish ponds as well, even though they are separated by a large geographic distance. This study shows that stormwater ponds are habitats for diverse planktonic algae communities which have some similarities to those of natural shallow lakes. Also, the similarities observed between Danish and Canadian ponds indicate some consistence with the urban homogenization hypothesis, although this should be further looked into by future works examining a larger number and distinct types of ponds.

     

Social Work Student Self-Care and Academic Stress

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship between self-care and academic stress in the hope that training social work students to practice self-care will start them on the right path to academic success and career longevity. The study surveyed 90 BASW and MSW students using the Academic Stress Scale. Students who practiced daily self-care had lower academic stress. In addition, with each year of progression through the program, students experienced minimally less academic stress. The type of self-care practiced was not a factor. Social work programs can be encouraged to teach self-care. Self-care theory and domains are also reviewed. More studies are needed to examine other factors that might reduce academic stress.     

The Role of Domain Content in Understanding Identity Development Processes

The current studies examined the importance of domain content in the processes of identity development using two approaches—narrative and status. We examined personal narratives for identity domain content, the co‐occurrence of different contents, and the relations between content and processes, using two approaches to identity—status and narrative. Across two studies, 762 participants (average age = 19 years) and 2214 narratives, traditional ideological and interpersonal status domains were present, but so was a novel domain: existential concerns. Narrative identity processes were more frequent in narratives with multiple contents, and relations between identity statuses processes and narrative processes were modest. We discuss theoretical implications, the importance of examining content, and the utility of narrative approaches for doing so.     

Sexual Inactivity Among Transfeminine Persons: A Canadian Respondent-Driven Sampling Survey

Sexual health research with transfeminine persons (individuals assigned male at birth who identify as female or feminine) has focused on HIV infection and sexual function following medical treatments. Yet, approximately half of transfeminine persons in Ontario, Canada, reported no partnered sex in the previous year. Therefore, we identified sociodemographic, social, and psychosocial factors associated with past-year sexual inactivity among transfeminine Ontarians. A multi-mode respondent-driven sampling survey of transgender people was conducted in 2009–2010 (N = 433), including 173 transfeminine individuals who had ever been sexually active. Frequencies and regression models were weighted using RDS II methods; prevalence ratios were estimated from logistic regression models using average marginal predictions. Of sexually experienced transfeminine persons, 43% (95% CI [31, 55]) reported no past-year sex partners. Sexual inactivity was independently associated with older age, childhood sexual abuse, and residing outside of the province’s largest city. Transfeminine persons who had genital surgery for gender affirmation were less likely to be abstinent, as compared to those who were living in their felt gender without surgery. Transphobic harassment and higher levels of trans-related sexual body image worries were also associated with sexual inactivity, as was reduced sexual satisfaction. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Stepping outside normative neoliberal discourse: youth and disability meet – the case of Jody McIntyre

In May 2010, amidst the ‘global financial crisis’ a Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government succeeded a 12-year reign of New Labour in the United Kingdom, and ushered in massive welfare cuts. Although New Labour tabled major welfare and disability benefit reform, they arguably did not activate the harshest of these. This paper focuses on the backlash of youth and disability in the form of demonstrations; two groups that are being hit hard by the political shift to work-first welfare in an era of employment scarcity. The case of young disabled activist Jody McIntyre is used to explore parallels and divergences in neoliberal and ‘populist’ discourses of ‘risky’, ‘troubling’ youth and disability.