Fuzzy-Trace Theory, Risk Communication, and Product Labeling in Sexually Transmitted Diseases

Health care professionals are a major source of risk communications, but their estimation of risks may be compromised by systematic biases. We examined fuzzy-trace theory's predictions of professionals' biases in risk estimation for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) linked to: knowledge deficits (producing underestimation of STI risk, re-infection, and gender differences), gist-based mental representation of risk categories (producing overestimation of condom effectiveness for psychologically atypical but prevalent infections), retrieval failure for risk knowledge (producing greater risk underestimation when STIs are not specified), and processing interference involving combining risk estimates (producing biases in post-test estimation of infection, regardless of knowledge). One-hundred-seventy-four subjects (experts attending a national workshop, physicians, other health care professionals, and students) estimated the risk of teenagers contracting STIs, re-infection rates for males and females, and condom effectiveness in reducing infection risk. Retrieval was manipulated by asking estimation questions in two formats, a specific format that "unpacked" the STI category (infection types) and a global format that did not provide specific cues. Requesting estimates of infection risk after relevant knowledge was directly provided, isolating processing effects, assessed processing biases. As predicted, all groups of professionals underestimated the risk of STI transmission, re-infection, and gender differences, and overestimated the effectiveness of condoms, relative to published estimates. However, when questions provided better retrieval supports (specified format), estimation bias decreased. All groups of professionals also suffered from predicted processing biases. Although knowledge deficits contribute to estimation biases, the research showed that biases are also linked to fuzzy representations, retrieval failures, and processing errors Hence, interventions that are designed to improve risk perception among professionals must incorporate more than knowledge dissemination. They should also provide support for information representation, effective retrieval, and accurate processing.     

Mix and match: planning to keep looked after children safe

The risks which children run from other children in substitute care have received little attention. However, if children's safety in care is to be maximized, then placement planning will need to focus on the risks and vulnerability of both the child to be placed and others already in the setting. It should also ensure that full information is given to the caregivers. In an interview sample of 40 looked after sexually abused and/or abusing young people aged 10 or over, most of the young abusers were placed in foster care and the majority of the sexually abused young people went into children's homes. However, in fewer than a third of these placements was consideration given to how the young person would fit in with others in that setting. This meant that the potential risks which that child posed to others or vice versa were not addressed. More worrying still, in just under half of the sample, no information about the young person's history of sexual abuse or abusing behaviour was given to the caregivers. This meant that caregivers were unable to plan to provide the level of supervision which might have averted a number of instances of abuse. When the whole histories of the sexually abused young people in the study were examined, it was found that half of them had abused another child at some stage, generally another child in care. This evidence suggests that the experience of sexual abuse should be regarded as an important risk factor in the later development of sexually abusing behavior and that local authorities need to fashion policies which emphasize the prime importance of social workers providing full information about children's backgrounds when placements are made. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sexting: adolescents’ perceptions of the applications used for,motives for,and consequences of sexting

This study explores adolescents’ perceptions of applications used for sexting, the motives for engaging in sexting, and the consequences they relate to sexting behavior. We conducted 11 same-sex focus groups among 57 adolescents (66.67% females; n?=?38) between 15 and 18 years old in Flanders, Belgium. The analysis revealed that sexting mostly occurs through smartphone applications, such as Snapchat, which are perceived to be a more intimate form of communication than other digital applications, such as social networking sites. Both female and male respondents observed that girls might sometimes feel pressured to engage in sexting. They did so mostly out of fear that otherwise they would lose their boyfriends. Female and male respondents mentioned three main ways in which sexting photographs could be abused: (1) they could be used to coerce or to blackmail the victim, (2) they could be distributed out of revenge after the breakup of a romantic relationship, or (3) they could be forwarded or shown to peers in order to boast about having received the digital photograph. Anecdotes, which illustrate our findings, are included in the results. Suggestions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.     

Heterosexual Casual Sex and STI Diagnosis: A Latent Class Analysis

Casual sex is common during the emerging adult life course stage, but little research has taken a person-centered approach to investigate if casual sexual behavior influences sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates. Using a nationally representative sample and latent class analysis, results showed three distinctive latent classes. Abstainers were the least likely to have an STI, followed by the casual sex experienced, and then the casual sex risk-takers. Once other covariates were included in the model, there was no significant difference between the abstainers and casual sex experienced classes. These results highlight the need for future research to include diverse samples of emerging adults.     

A pilot test of a self-guided,home-based intervention to improve condom-related sexual experiences,attitudes, and behaviors among young women

Objective: To conduct a pilot test of a brief, self-guided, home-based program designed to improve male condom use attitudes and behaviors among young women. Participants: Women aged 18–24 years from a large Midwestern University reporting having had penile–vaginal sex with two or more partners in the past 3 months. Sixty-seven enrolled; 91.0% completed the study. Methods: A repeated measures design was used, with assessments occurring at baseline, immediately post intervention (T2), and 30 days subsequent (T3). Results: Condom use errors and problems decreased, condom-related attitudes and self-efficacy improved, and experiences of condom-protected sex were rated more positively when comparing baseline with T2 and T3 scores. Further, the proportion of condom-protected episodes more than doubled between T1 and T3 for those in the lowest quartile for condom use at baseline. Conclusion: This low-resource, home-based program improved condom-related attitudes and promoted the correct and consistent use of condoms.     

High-Risk Sexual Behavior Among Students of a Minority-Serving University in a Community With a High HIV/AIDS Prevalence

Objective: The authors used a stratified cluster sampling design to inform campus sexually transmitted diseases prevention programs. Participants and Methods: They conducted a cross-sectional study of students (N = 1,130) at a large, urban, minority-serving university in South Florida using the 2004 National College Health Assessment Survey instrument. Results: Of the 1,130 participants, 14.0% reported risky sexual behavior (having more than 1 sexual partner in 1 year and not using a condom the last time they had vaginal intercourse), and 11.9% reported consistent risky sexual behavior (having more than 1 partner in 1 year and not using condoms most or all of the time during the past 30 days). In multivariable analysis, past-month alcohol use had the strongest independent association with both risky and consistent risky sexual behavior. Illicit drug use was marginally significant in both models. Conclusions: Administrators should address the use of alcohol and other drugs on campus in planning interventions to promote safe sexual behavior.     

Fifty family deserters: An inquiry into the reasons for their desertion 1

Human papillomavirus (HPV) is the most common sexually transmitted infection and the leading cause of cervical cancer. Consistent disparities in the incidence and mortality rates of cervical cancer for racial minorities and low-income women have been found. To date, there have been no articles written in a social work journal about HPV. This article presents an argument for including HPV under social work's purview and presents research findings that suggest access to the HPV vaccine, Gardasil®, may be difficult for financially vulnerable consumers. Recommendations for future interventions and research are offered.     

The GIG

SUMMARY

The GIG¹ is an innovative community based intervention which offers education regarding pregnancy and sexually transmitted infection (STI) risks and prevention in the context of a social event that is open to the adolescent community. This intensive, six hour intervention features live and recorded music, celebrities from local radio stations, raffles and prizes, and a number of educational activities providing instruction regarding pregnancy and STI risks and prevention. A total of 609 Latino adolescents completed matched pre and posttest measures. The increase in the total mean score from pretest to posttest was found to be statistically significant, as were the separate analyses for items related to pregnancy and those related to STIs. Information regarding specific attitudes and areas of knowledge are provided. Important intervention components related to the research literature are discussed along with areas of success, especially with regard to risk factors, and those in need of further attention in future intervention events. Recommendations for reinforcing and enhancing the GIG messages are presented along with implications of the findings for social work and health care professionals responsible for designing interventions for at-risk youth.     

Joint Modelling of Recurrent Infections and Antibody Response by Bayesian Data Augmentation

Abstract.  A joint dynamic model for the interdependence between infection, immunity and risk of disease is presented. Recurrent latent infections are modelled as realizations from a renewal process and antibody dynamics as a diffusion with a decreasing drift modified by the stimulating effect of the random infections. The augmented submodels are estimated simultaneously in one large Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm. As an example, we consider the risk of recurrent ear infections when having only partially observed information on bacterial carriage and antibody concentrations.