Sex offender treatment is a process aimed at preventing identified sexual offenders from reoffending. It is an umbrella concept, which can include cognitive behavioral therapy delivered in groups, individually, or both, and medications aimed at minimizing sexual arousal or urge states. Sex offender treatment began as a behavioral discipline where interventions used classical conditioning paradigms in order to eliminate sexual arousal to children or to violent themes and to replace it with sexual arousal to mutually consenting sexual behavior with adults. These behavioral techniques proved too narrow and were replaced with more comprehensive cognitive behavioral interventions, beginning with relapse prevention, and more recently expanding to include more positive psychology concepts with the introduction of the good lives model. There is currently controversy about the available scientific evidence for the effectiveness of sex offender treatment, how to define appropriate treatment targets, and the use of certain types of techniques and technology, for instance polygraphy.
Most of the scientific literature on HIV prevention campaigns (and medical and psychosocial health care) neglect the fact that women can be infected by HIV. This neglect is demonstrated in several ways: women are described as infectors and not as infectees, the typical disease profile in women is not described, and female sexuality and the position of women in society are not taken into account in prevention campaigns. The relative number of women infected with HIV rises. Research on women and HIV is needed to slow the rise in infection rates and adequately address the medical and psychological health care of HIV-infected women.
Several studies address the problem of a relapse to unsafe sexual activity among gay men, and discuss the danger of a new wave of HIV-infections. The present study analyzes psychological predictors of unprotected intercourse in a Sample of 58 HIV-positive gay men. Fifteen persons out of this sample had at least occasionally unprotected anal or oral sex with ejaculation. This group displays a characteristic psychological profile. Compared to the control group, these men (1) are more depressive, (2) have a tendency to blame themselves for being infected(3) use an avoiding coping style, and (4) trust more in external control by professionals than in internal control. A psychological interpretation is proposed that sexual behavior can be regarded as a distracting coping mechanism against expression that is used to deny the threatening reality of the infection. The need for psychotherapy for HIV-infected persons is emphasized.
The objective of this article was to describe a representative city population of HIV antibody positive homosexual and bisexual men regarding their psychosocial situation, and to examine if awareness of their seropositivity and different sychosocial factors influenced the sexual contact pattern. The population consists of all delecled HN seropositive homosexual and bisexual men who did not have an AIDS-diamosis, and who were in contact with the only clinic in Malmo caring for seropositive individuals. Forty-seven gay men (72%) participated in the sludy during a one-year period from April 1988 when the population was defined. All men were inter-
The main question asked in this paper is: how do the more long-ten survival sirategies among HIV-pdsitive homosexual men vary with the notion of themselves as homosexuals? This question is dscussed in the light of two case studies that were selected from a sample of 16 HIV-positive homosexual men in a study on homosexuality and HN performed by the author in Sweden during 1987-88. The two cases illustrate the complex interaction between a person's sexual orientation identity and his reactions lo becoming V-positive, both in a short and long-term perspective. The conclusion of the qualitative analysis is that to some, being HIV-positive is the beginning of a dynamic personal development, while in others it causes a strong homophobic reaction, which is closely connected with the person's aversion to regarding himself as homosexual.
Heterosexual transmission now accounts for over two-thirds of all newly diagnosed HIV cases in China, making it the dominant transmission route. The significant societal changes, brought about by the opening of China's boarders and the dramatic economic reform in the late 1970s and early 1980s, have increased personal wealth disparities, created large-scale internal labor migrations, and liberalized sexual norms, all of which have facilitated the rapid growth in heterosexual transmission of HIV. Currently, prevalence in the general population remains low. Therefore, prevention and response efforts for the heterosexual epidemic have concentrated on key populations, including female sex workers, migrants, attendees of sexually transmitted infection clinics, and serodiscordant couples. While interventions such as condom promotion, testing, and health education have been successfully implemented for these long--recognized key populations, the rapid growth of HIV cases in populations such as older adults indicates that there is a need for new approaches to HIV prevention in an evolving epidemic. Additional research is needed to understand transmission dynamics and sexual networks and implementation of effective interventions. Finally, difficult questions that have arisen following opening up and reform, such as economic inequality, the criminalization of sex work, and internal migration, must be addressed to further facilitate HIV prevention efforts.
Twenty gay men who were HIV infecled were interviewed and a qualitative methodology was utilized to understand how they found meaning, purpose and value in their lives as they confronted a life-threatening illness. The authors examined six areas of potential meaning derived deductively from thanatology literature and inductively from piloting procedures: (1) relationships (intimacy with others); (2) self-discovery; (3) spiritual fulfillment; (4) acquiring knowledge; (5) aesthetic appreciation/iivolvernent; and (6) contributing to others or society. Nearly all of the participants (85%) reported that their overall sense of meaning, purpose and value had changed since being diagnosed seropositive. The greatest number of this subgroup reported that a positwe change had occurred. Three persons (15%) felt their HIV status adversely affected their sense of meaning of life. The factor most likely to account for the positive shifts in meaning came from the realization that their time of living was limited. Relatio...
On an individual level, the accurate perception of the risk of HIV infection is a necessary condition for taking preventive measures in one's sexual behavior. This perception generally depends upon a variety of factors. Denial as one of these factors is the focus of a study carried out among a representative sample of 1001 Dutch citizens between the ages of 18 and 50 (mean age 32 years), who have been interviewed face to face. Scales have been developed to assess the tendency lo reason away the risk of HIV infection and the tendency to play this risk down. The results of this study show that the tendency to deny the risk of HIV infection influences the way people deal with HIV/AIDS. People who sexually have been at risk and who reason this risk away don't acknowledge the fact that they have been at risk. These people also less often worried about the possibility of being infected. In general, the stronger the tendency to reason away the risk of infection, the less often subjects worried about their future...
In a test of a theory of prejudice toward homosexuals, male and female college students who tested high or low, in homophobia evaluated the caieer placement files of competent male stimulus persons (SPs) who differed in sexual preference and in the similarity of their attitudes to those of their evaluators. As predicted by the dissimilarity/revulsion model, all groups of subjects perceived homosexual SPs to be more generally dissimilar to themselves than heterosexual SPs, regardless of the manipulated similarity of SPs' attitudes. But contrary to expectations, the expression of similar attitudes did not make homosexual SPs any more attractive as companions to any of our groups of heterosexual evaluators. Although all subjects assumed that homosexual SPs were highly dissimilar to themselves, only the relatively homophobic participants were apt to display much revulsion ovcr these imputed dissimilarities and to routinely view homosexual SPs as relatively undesirable com...
The prevalence of sexual abuse in recovering chemically dependent lesbians and gay men was studied by a retrospective chart review of inpatients at Pride Institute, a center designed to provide treatment for chemical dependency in this population. Nearly 50% of the 201 inpatients studied reporled being sexually abused. The researchers postulate that comprehensive chemical dependency treatment programs must recognize and support their clients' need lo address sexual abuse in order to prevent relapse and to improve their gcncral emotional well-being. Most treatment centers arc reluctant to address sexuality and its problems. Pride Institute maintnins a sharp focus on the homosexual culture and staff are sensitive to my difficulties with sexuality, ranging from society's disapproval of a minority lifestyle to overt rape and assault. As a consequence, clients are open to iscussion oft ese problems and staff are able to collect data confirming the extent and nature of sexual abuse in this population. The resea...
The sex revolution that started in the United Slates in the 1960s has many advantages for many pcoplc much of the time. Thus, it has led to increased democracy, freedom, flexibility, and pluralism. It has helped enhance both individualism and sociality. It has augmented and improved sex education, sex therapy, love and marital relationships, women's and gay liberation, and sex-love research. It also has had some disadvantages, such as the spread of sexually transmitted diseases, sexual obsession and compulsion among some individuals, new waves of censorship and repression, and premature neglect of preserving and extcnding its benefits. On the whole it probably has led to and continues to encourage considerably more sexual and general good than harm.
Thirty-three clinical couples (17 sex therapy and 16 marital therapy) and fifty non-clinical couples were examined for potential differences in relationship playfulness utilizing the Couples Play Questionnaire. For clinical couples, Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale, and Edmond's Marital Conventionalization Scale scores were also comparcd. Both sex therapy and marital therapy couples were found to be deficient in play compared to non-clinical couples, while marital therapy couples were found to be most deficient. Greater marital conventionalization scores were found for sex therapy couples suggesting that they favorably distort their self-assessmcnts. Results suggest that sex therapy couples may be the more inflexible of the three sample groups and may need therapeutic assistance with general relationship play as well as sexual play.
This was an exploratory study designed to investigate a variety of characteristics of child sex abusers that may bc predictive of treatment response. A total of 122 clients were interviewed prior to their entry into therapy. The majority of thc sample could be classified as intrafamilial abusers. This study focused on Ihree classes of variables: (1) sociodemo ra hic characteristics, (2) molestation history characteristics, an%(3! psychosexual history characteristics. The results indicated that therapy attendance accounted for a significant portion of the treatment variance. Offenders from high socioeconomic classes show better therapy progress than thosc from the lower socioeconomic strata. Denial of abuse was found to be a major impediment to therapy progress. Offenders who have a sexuality conservative orientation also progress more slowly than those whose sexual views are more liberal. Those offenders who had been victimized during their own childhood show more rapid treatment progress than offenders w...
Six females and ten males aged eighteen or older had a pediatric histow of reversible growth failure diagnosed as the syndrome of psychosocial or child abuse dwarfism. They were followed in childhood and articipated in a sexological outcome study in young adulthood. Except for one bisexual male, all were rated as elerosexual. In sexuoerotic functioning, the distribution was: 5 normophilic; 5 hypohilic; 1 hyperphilic; 5 paraphilic. Disruption of the parentshild pnirgond in infancy and early childhood by parental deprivation and abuse put the child at risk for long-lasting anomolies of lover-lover pairbonding in adolescence and adulthood. The report is phenomenological and classificatory. It is not etiological, although, insofar as they are developmental, the findings do disclose the possibility of d namic relatedness between events at two or more different phases of the lifespan. On the basis of divergent developmental hrstories some conjectures concerning divergent outcomes are formulated.
We studied male and female sexual behavior and satisfaction during pregnancy. Expectant fathers were less emotionally satisfied than their wives through the pregnancy. Relative to their husbands, women experienced more conflict and guilt, but reported feeling peaceful and fulfilled in pregnancy, more self-accepting sexually, and derived more pleasure from sex. Both women and men underestimated how attractive their partner found the woman's pregnant body, with men finding their wives more attractive. There were no significant differences in level of sexual desire or sexual satisfaction between men and women. A series of multiple regressions identified a number of variables as predictive of male and female sexual satisfaction. Comparing pregnant couples expecting their first child with normative da:a, we found that expectant couples were less satisfied with the frequency of sex and also derived less sexual pleasure than nonpregnant couples.
The sychological influence of religious background, current religious ad 1 erence, Catholic background and current identi- ,1fi5c9at iNonew a sZ ae aClaanthdo, lhico mwoasse ixnuvaelslyti gaactetidv ea sm paalerts .o fR ae swpoidnedre nsttsu dY ro omf Catholic and Baptist backgrounds appeared dispro rtionately overrepresented in the sample while Presbylerians an 8Melhodt.sts w ere under-represented. While 84% of respondents were raised within a particular religious tradition, on1 16% regularly attend some form of reli ious service, indicating t 8 at the major effect over time has been atenation from religious heritage in thts group. Religious nonadherence was between two and five times greater in the sample than in the eneral population. Those currently religious were not distinguishable from the non-religious on personality characteristics. Those of a Catholic background reported more succorance and less self-control than those from non-Catholic backgrounds, while those currently identifying as Catholic...
