The advantages and limitations of seeking sex online: a comparison of reasons given for online and offline sexual liaisons by men who have sex with men

The Internet has developed as a major site for sexual activity, both cybersex and for making contacts for sex in real life (IRL). As part of a major study of HIV-risk behavior on the Internet and IRL , we obtained on-line responses from 1,017 Latino men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.S. Open-ended questions solicited responses regarding whether respondents preferred to meet sexual partners first IRL (48.4%), on the Internet (31.6%), or "it depends" (20%), and "why?". Data were analyzed by theme, with themes grouped into overarching domains. Data indicate that for those preferring the Internet, themes represented were ease of Internet use, its advantages for people who were shy, and its anonymity, safety, the excitement and opportunity for experimentation of Internet contact, ability to avoid interpersonal contact, and control of visuals and the environment. Reasons for preferring meeting IRL included some of the same themes, but emphasizing the importance of a "real presence" and the possibility to build a relationship. Where "it depends", key themes were contextual: mood, time, setting, alcohol and drug use, sexual needs and urgency, and relationship intentions. Antagonistic advantages were often noted for cybersex and IRL. These data suggest that motivations for making Internet sexual contact in MSM are complex, depend on the context and nature of the relationship sought, and that the Internet has allowed the development of a class of sexual contacts located between IRL and fantasy.     

Shift share analysis of change in occupational sex composition

Studies of economic restructuring frequently use two-dimensional shift share analysis to isolate components of change in labor market categories of theoretical interest. This paper adapts the shift share technique to the analysis of change in occupational sex composition. The adaptation relies on a three-dimensional data array and discusses issues of hierarchically ordering the dimensions. Sex composition change is decomposed by first isolating surplus or deficit occupational change for one sex, and then decomposing the surplus/deficit into constituent components. The model is demonstrated using Current Population Survey data for 1973 and 1987.     

Using Theory to Understand Public Support for Collective Actions that Impact the Environment: Alleviating Water Supply Problems in a Nonarid Biome*

Objectives. There is increasing public debate over how to meet future water supply needs in historically water‐abundant areas such as the American southeast. Citizens, policymakers, and others are struggling to find ways to meet these needs and to design political strategies for implementing them. This article examines water supply problems facing many communities in the southeast and how social theory can be used to better understand public support for collective actions designed to alleviate them. It presents a framework synthesizing recent work of Dunlap and Jones on the conceptual foundations of environmental concern research with Ajzen and Fishbein's theory of reasoned action in order to understand public support for building a dam to meet local water supply needs. Methods. The linkages postulated by the model were empirically tested using mail‐survey data obtained from a random sample of 433 adult residents of Cumberland County, Tennessee. Results. Results demonstrate that public support for building the dam is weak. Conclusion. Knowledge of public beliefs, norms, and attitudes about its construction and potential impact, however, can provide policymakers, natural resource professionals, and local stakeholder groups with a solid understanding of why residents support, oppose, or are unsure about building a dam to alleviate water supply problems in this county.     

AIDS Risk Behaviors among American and Australian Homeless Youth

We examined HIV/AIDS risk behaviors among homeless youth in cross-national data collected in Melbourne, Australia ( n = 398), and Los Angeles, California ( n = 498). Using structural equation modeling, we found that the Australian youth reported greater involvement in AIDS risk behaviors than the American youth and the Australian youth were more involved in intervening risk factors that promote risk behaviors and less involved with protective factors that reduce risk behaviors. Youth reporting the highest rates of delinquent behaviors also had peers engaging in delinquent acts, used alcohol and marijuana, and were more likely to utilize social services. These findings underscore the importance of having a service sector that is able to adequately address the needs of homeless youth .     

My Recovery Story

This is an autobiographical story in which Charles Feldman grows up absurd, wants to be a hippie, is briefly involved in a socialist organization, comes down with schizophrenia, doesn't realize at first that he has an illness, suffers at the hands of an incompetent psychiatrist, gets better treatment with new providers, comes to terms with the illness, advocates on behalf of people living with mental illness, and resolves his existential identity crisis by finding a spiritual home in the Vedanta movement, which provides the culmination of his recovery.     

Intersecting Sexual,Gender, and Professional Identities Among Social Work Students: The Importance of Identity Integration

ABSTRACT

Discrimination toward lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) social work students can negatively affect academic performance and personal and professional identity development. Intersectionality is a conceptual approach that states that social identities interact to form different meanings and experiences from those that could be explained by a single identity. This study explored how the educational experiences of LGBTQ social work students in the United States and Canada influenced their professional and personal identities. Using an intersectional analysis, three major themes emerged: the need for social work programs to better promote LGBTQ identity and emerging social work professional identity integration, a lack of LGBTQ content in the curriculum, and unsupportive LGBTQ school climates. Implications for social work education are considered.     

“It Gets Better” … but How? Exploring Resilience Development in the Accounts of LGBTQ Adults

As reports of bullying and suicide increase, research on lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) youth must expand its focus from vulnerabilities to resilience development. The purpose of this inductive qualitative study was to explore resilience development in the accounts of LGBTQ adults by analyzing videos posted for the It Gets Better social media campaign (n = 21). Four major themes emerged: (1) leaving hostile social environments; (2) experiencing “coming out” in meaningful ways; (3) remembering the social environment; and (4) turning challenges into opportunities and strengths. These findings suggest that, despite the campaign's premise, life did not automatically get better for the LGBTQ participants. Rather, the findings offer a nuanced look at the pathways to resilience development. Implications for social work practice are discussed.     

The Advantages and Limitations of Seeking Sex Online: A Comparison of Reasons Given for Online and Offline Sexual Liaisons by Men Who Have Sex With Men

Australian young adults reported how often they wanted to use condoms in both romantic (n = 667) and casual relationship (n = 152) contexts and how often they thought their partners wanted to use condoms. Young adults wanted to use condoms more often than they perceived their partners to in both casual and romantic relationship contexts. Gender interactions showed that this pattern was especially strong among young women. Women seemed to underestimate the frequency at which their male partners wanted to use condoms. Furthermore, both the participants' condom use desires and perceptions of their partners' condom use desires predicted condom use behavior. Results suggest that gendered expectations may play a part in how often individuals perceive their partners to want to use condoms, which, in effect, may determine condom use behavior.