Counseling Strategies with Gay and Lesbian Youth

Counseling needs of gay and lesbian youth have not been adequately researched. Identification of these issues has only been underway for adequately researched. Identification of these issues has only been underway for approximately ten years, as service providers and researchers turned their attention to this population. Factors, which contribute to a presenting clinical picture, include stigmatization, hiding and isolation, a sense of being different, lack of family support, harassment, and violence. Each of these areas is discussed, integrating case vignettes and research findings.     

Male Couples and Their Relationship Styles

This article presents a classification system for understanding male couples in terms of how they bond and maintain a relationship. The various roles sex plays in the development and maintenance of a relationship are also examined, as is the important influence of AIDS. In order to be helpful to male couples, social workers need to be familiar with the diversity of relationship patterns in this group.     

Exploring Queer Consciousness Among Social Workers

The purpose of this study is to examine the attitudes of MSW practitioners toward lesbians and gay men using a recently developed instrument. Whereas prior research focused on blatantly homophobic or heterosexist attitudes, this research uses a measurement tool based on the concept of queer consciousness (QC) and measures subtle forms of prejudice, including both positive and negative attitudes along four dimensions: Value gay and lesbian progress/diversity, resist traditional sex and gender roles, positive beliefs about lesbians, and positive beliefs about gay men. Research findings indicate negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men in three out of the four dimensions for the sample of social work practitioners. This article concludes with suggestions for social work educators who want to redress areas of subtle prejudice and promote higher levels of QC.     

The Relationship Between Sexual Minority Verbal Harassment and Utilization of Health Services: Results from Countywide Risk Assessment Survey (CRAS) 2004

In this article we examine the prevalence of and associations between sexual orientation–based verbal harassment and reported utilization of health services across levels of sexual orientation in a diverse sample of adult recipients of Los Angeles County–funded HIV-related health and social services. Thirty-two percent reported they had experienced verbal harassment, the majority (80.3%) of whom identified as lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB). Those who reported being verbally harassed received significantly more services overall than those who were not verbally harassed, and service utilization varied by sexual orientation. These findings inform future efforts to identify and assess social discrimination in health and social service settings.     

The Treatment of Male Sexual Offenders

No abstract available for this article.     

Victim's Response Cycle: A Model for Understanding the Incestuous Victim-Offender Relationship

ABSTRACT

The victim-response cycle is a theoretical and clinical model that can be utilized to assist victims in their healing from the trauma of sexual abuse. This model focuses on the specific aspects of the relationship that victims have with their offenders, particularly in incest cases, which contribute to the degree of trauma that victims experience. This relationship can also become the model for other relationships as the victim matures, and the victim-response cycle can be used to assist these adult survivors in understanding their difficulties with adult intimate relationships. This model addresses aspects of attachment and learned coping responses to assist clinicians in treating symptomatic behavior. While severe trauma is rarely treatable with a short-term approach, this model can assist in providing clients and clinicians with tools for symptomatic relief, which may be achievable in a short-term setting. This model has not been examined empirically, but it has been utilized in several outpatient practices in the Midwest with positive clinical results. A case example demonstrating the use of this model is also presented.     

Assessing the Long-Term Effects of EMDR: Results from an 18-Month Follow-Up Study with Adult Female Survivors of CSA

ABSTRACT

This 18-month follow-up study builds on the findings of a randomized experimental evaluation that found qualified support for the short-term effectiveness of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in reducing trauma symptoms among adult female survivors of childhood sexual abuse (CSA). The current study provides preliminary evidence that the therapeutic benefits of EMDR for adult female survivors of CSA can be maintained over an 18-month period. Furthermore, there is some support for the suggestion that EMDR did so more efficiently and provided a greater sense of trauma resolution than did routine individual therapy.     

An Exploration of Family Violence Among the Homeless

Abstract

This research found a high incidence of family violence among homeless people. The most common form of violence was physical; the least common was sexual abuse. The data also reported a high percentage of violence among homeless people confronted with mental illness. The policy and practice implications for these findings are discussed.     

Qualitative research on homosexual and bisexual behavior relevant to HIV/AIDS

The spread of the international AIDS pandemic has drawn attention to the urgent need for data on human sexual behavior; yet the lack of an established tradition of theory and method in sex research has limited the development of research initiatives in this area. This has been particularly true in the study of homosexual and bisexual behavior, which has relied heavily on the use of quantitative survey methods that largely fail to address cross‐cultural differences in the structure and meaning of same‐sex sexual experience. More qualitative approaches offer the possibility of investigating homosexual and bisexual behavior within a broader social and cultural context and can therefore play an important role in developing a framework for the comparative analysis of behavioral data. This article seeks to contribute to the development of theory and method in sex research by outlining key research issues and possible methodologies for the qualitative investigation of homosexual and bisexual behavior in relation to HIV/AIDS.     

A Scoping Review of Challenges in Adult Intimate Relationships After Childhood Sexual Abuse

Childhood sexual abuse is a severe problem worldwide. Childhood sexual abuse can be detrimental to children and their abilities to cope with and communicate in their subsequent adult intimate relationships. The aim of this review was to generate and summarize knowledge about how childhood sexual abuse manifests in adult intimate relationships so healthcare professionals can incorporate this knowledge into treatment and care. A scoping review methodology was selected because it supports examination of the extent, range, and nature of research activity. A content analysis of the studies included in this review led to three thematic categories of challenges in adult intimate relationships after childhood sexual abuse: (a) relationship satisfaction, (b) sexual satisfaction, and (c) communication and trust.