“Otis”: A Case Study of an Online Attempt to Purchase Children for Sex

ABSTRACT

The researchers analyzed court documents to develop a case study of an individual convicted of buying sexual services from exploited children. Findings indicate that the subject deviates from preexisting victim selection processes and demonstrates characteristics inconsistent with existing sexual offender typologies that likens offender behaviors to the hunting techniques and behaviors of predatory animals. As evidenced in the case study, the individual perceived the victims solely as a means of deviant sexual satiation and did not participate in traditionally established victim acquisition techniques. In addition, the researchers propose adopting terminology that adheres to the term consumer rather than buyer as it better represents some offenders’ disconnect and lack of empathy in the victim acquisition process.     

Confirming the structure of the Why Do You Smoke? Questionnaire: a community resource for adolescent tobacco cessation

In response to the problem of adolescent smoking and limited appropriate cessation resources, this study examined the pattern and structure of the American Lung Association, Why Do You Smoke? (WDS) to determine its appropriateness for use in youth smoking cessation programs. The WDS is used to help smokers identify primary motivations for using tobacco and is comprised of eight subscales, each with three items representing primary smoking motivations ("Stimulation," "Handling," "Pleasure," "Crutch," "Psychological," "Habit," "Peer," and "Independence"). Study participants were all minors enrolled in a tobacco cessation program (n = 251). The pattern and structure of this self-assessment was examined using a correlated multiple group component factor analysis as a confirmatory approach. Findings show that the level of endorsement (as evidenced by subscale means and standard deviations) was relatively large across the eight subscales. Alpha coefficients ranged from .54 to .85. Results also underlined that the pattern coefficient matrix provided support for the hypothesized subscales through an examination of simultaneously extracted confidence intervals. These subscales should be further examined as to their usefulness in cessation interventions, such as the validity of using this instrument by gender, ethnicity, and age. However, from a measurement perspective, the confirmatory analysis provides excellent credence for the continued use of the WDS in cognitive/behavioral intervention programs targeting adolescents.     

Exploring college students’ sexual and reproductive health literacy

Abstract

Objective: To assess college students’ sexual and reproductive health (SRH) literacy experiences, specific to contraception use and STI prevention. Participants: In Spring 2015, participants (n?=?43) from a large institution participated in six focus groups (two male and four females groups). Methods: Focus groups were guided by the health literacy domains (access; understand; appraise; apply); data were analyzed in MaxQDA using the constant comparative method. Results: The Internet was the most commonly accessed source for SRH information. Participants discussed facilitators (eg, use of visuals) and barriers (eg, medical jargon) to understanding information; and personal lifestyle, advice from family/friends, symptoms, and sexual partners as appraisal factors. Participants applied information by communicating with friends/providers and seeking healthcare. However, findings were not linear nor mutually exclusive, representing the interaction of health literacy skills. Conclusion: Findings suggest that a patient-centered intervention capitalizing on technology and trusted individuals (providers/peer educators) may facilitate college students’ SRH literacy.     

Disentangling the exposure experience: the roles of community context and report-back of environmental exposure data

This article examines participants' responses to receiving their results in a study of household exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds and other pollutants. The authors study how the "exposure experience"-the embodied, personal experience and understanding of chronic exposure to environmental pollutants-is shaped by community context and the report-back process itself. In addition, the authors investigate an activist, collective form of exposure experience. The authors analyze themes of expectations and learning, trust, and action. The findings reveal that while participants interpret scientific results to affirm lay knowledge of urban industrial toxics, they also absorb new information regarding other pollutant sources. By linking the public understanding of science literature to the illness and exposure experience concepts, this study unravels the complex relationship between lay experience and lay understanding of science. It also shows that to support policy development and/or social change, community-based participatory research efforts must attend to participants' understanding of science.