Asking About Sexual Orientation During Assessment for Drug and Alcohol Concerns: A Pilot Study

ABSTRACT

An assessment tool was designed to assist service providers in identifying lesbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) clients who present for assistance related to substance use concerns. Items were designed to facilitate self-disclosure of the individual's sexual orientation and identify concerns of LGB clients that will be relevant to treatment planning for substance use concerns. Therapists in general assessment and LGB-specialized services of a large treatment agency were trained to use the tool. This paper presents client and therapist comments made during the pilot study regarding the use and value of the assessment tool.     

Advances in Sex Offender Treatment and Challenges for the Future

Abstract

This paper describes what the authors believe to be the major advances, the areas of debate, and the future direction of sexual offender treatment as we leave the 20th century and enter the new millennium. In the area of sex offender treatment, the modification of relapse prevention for use with sex offenders has had a profound effect on the way that therapy is done. Additionally, the development of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors and other pharmacotherapies has moved the field more toward a bio-psychosocial model of etiology and treatment, and focused more attention on comorbid psychiatric disorders in the treatment of sexual offenders. The late 1990s saw major advances in the development of actuarial prediction tools for recidivism, and a concerning move toward phallometric stimuli with unclear reliability and validity. Additionally, the development of the Abel Screen for Sexual Interest has provided a promising, but as yet unvalidated, alternative to phallometry. The 1990s were also a period of considerable growth in the application of sexual offender treatment to special populations, such as adolescents, the developmentally disabled, women and children. The major challenge for the future is to develop methodologically sound research on which to base our decisions about the treatments to apply, the unique needs of special populations, and the assessment of dangerousness.     

Sexual coercion in gay male and lesbian relationships: Predictors and implications for support services

Numerous studies have documented the prevalence of forced sex in heterosexual couples. Positive effects of this research include increases in awareness about the problem among helping professionals and the public, as well as increases in support services and prevention programs. However, no research has been done on sexual coercion in gay male and lesbian relationships, and few support services exist. Therefore, this study is an investigation of the prevalence and correlates of coercive sex in gay male and lesbian relationships. Participants were 36 women and 34 men who were in gay or lesbian relationships. The results indicated that 12% of the gay men and 31% of the lesbians reported being victims of forced sex by their current or most recent partners. The higher reporting rate among women may be due to greater awareness of issues pertaining to sexual abuse, and greater likelihood of identifying various forms of coercion as force. For men, being a victim of forced sex was generally associated with being a victim of other forms of violence. For both sexes, victims of forced sex believed that it would be relatively difficult to get counseling. Implications for support services are discussed.     

Mentoring,Sexual Harassment,and Black Women Academics

ABSTRACT

The #MeToo Movement both within academia and popular culture has largely been seen as an issue for white women (and men). While the phrase Me Too was originally coined by Tarana Burke in 2006 to raise public awareness of sexual harassment, violence and assault experienced by women of color, the Movement has largely been whitewashed by primarily depicting victims and survivors as white women. Black women academics, like myself, also experience sexual harassment. By highlighting the ways that race-based sexual harassment further marginalizes already underrepresented groups in political science, I use my personal story to elucidate how a gender-only lens misses the complexities of Black women’s experiences with power inequities in academia. Throughout this narrative I underscore the importance of mentorship, professional networks, and the ability to harness scholarship as a vehicle to combat the pervasiveness of sexual harassment, violence, and assault for Black women in political science.     

Factors Associated with Sexual Dysfunction Symptoms among Veterans who Have Experienced Military Sexual Trauma

Although military sexual trauma (MST) has been found to be associated with sexual dysfunction (SD), there is limited information about the demographic, health, and traumatic experience factors related to SD symptoms among veterans who have experienced MST. The current study surveyed a national sample of 2,002 U.S. veterans who had screened positive for MST. Relationship status, overall health, and antidepressant use were significantly related to the presence of SD symptoms. Analyses examining SD types demonstrated that different factors may contribute to different SD symptoms. Potential implications of these findings for clinical practice and sexual health research among veterans are discussed.     

‘An opportunity for other men and a threat to other women’: workplace harassment at the intersection of marital status and gender in Sri Lanka

The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the ways divorced women experience workplace harassment at the intersection of marital status and gender in an Asian context, using the theory of intersectionality. Employing qualitative research approach, in-depth interviews with 12 divorced women were carried out. Results indicated the ways in which the participants get caught between ideological norms and beliefs about marriage and women that trigger distinct forms of harassment such as sexual harassment (sexual propositions and unpleasant flirtation), mistreatment (rumour-mongering, unsolicited/derogatory remarks, and ostracization/social exclusion), and discriminatory treatment (denial of promotions and positions as well as dismissal of achievements). Mostly subtle and at times blatant, the interplay of power dynamics, female misogyny, and intra-gender competition arising out of societal structures and deeply entrenched beliefs about women and marriage are seen as the basis for the manifestation of these forms of harassment. These findings advance the understanding of harassment, divorced women, and intersectionality, while also highlighting important implications for Human Resource Development professionals in addressing this grave issue at work.     

Adolescent sexual behavior—family characteristics,parental involvement,and associated mental disorders

Abstract

Manifold factors connect with adolescent sexual behavior, but studies on their reciprocal associations are scarce. This study seeks to find the ways in which parental involvement, family characteristics, depression, and delinquency are connected to adolescent early/risky sexual behavior, and to what extent they modify each other. A population-based self-report survey of nearly 187,000 adolescents (50.4% girls) was used. The most important of the family variables was living in a two-parent family, which showed the clearest inverse association with early/risky sexual behavior throughout adolescence. Depression and delinquency persisted associated with sexual behavior in the presence of the family variables.     

Foucault,Politics and Organizations: (Re)‐Constructing Sexual Harassment

This article reviews the body of knowledge around workplace sexual harassment. In deploying a Foucauldian analysis, it attempts to argue that this knowledge, as part of the wider discourse on sex, may (re)produce consequences counter to those which its proponents espouse. In particular, the discussion seeks to problematize the status of harassment knowledge as truth; the depiction within this knowledge of ‘good’ and ‘bad’ sex; the roles this knowledge identifies for men and women within the phenomenon of harassment; and the theme within harassment knowledge that sex is central to our existence. The conclusion aims to suggest the ways in which this kind of analysis is useful by addressing the criticisms usually levelled at Foucault's work.     

Does Sexual Orientation Have an Impact on Nonverbal Behavior in Interpersonal Communication?

This study explores the impact of sexual orientation on the nonverbal behavior of individuals in dyadic communication situations. It is hypothesized that the patterns of nonverbal behavior displayed in dyads with and without an individual with an open homosexual orientation are different from those in dyads with heterosexual participants only. An observational study was conducted with a total of 24 participants, 12 with a heterosexual orientation and 12 with a homosexual orientation (6 males and 6 females in each group). Participants were videotaped during a 20-min conversation which took place in dyads that were composed of individuals of the same biological sex with either the same sexual orientation (homosexual or heterosexual) or differing sexual orientations. Results show that in dyads which include a homosexual person nonverbal behavior is different from that displayed in dyads consisting of heterosexual participants only in terms of self-touch, body posture, body orientation, and gaze. Results are interpreted in terms of stereotyping and presentation rules.