Browsing by Subject "Sexual health"
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Item Effects of smoking cessation on sexual health in men(2011-08) Harte, Christopher Brookes; Meston, Cindy M.; Telch, Michael J.; Carlson, Caryn L.; Beevers, Christopher G.; Perry, Cheryl L.Cigarette smoking represents the most preventable cause of morbidity and mortality in the world today, and is responsible for enormous health-related economic burdens. Among other medical sequelae, erectile impairment has been shown to be associated with chronic tobacco use. The primary aim of the present study was to provide the first empirical investigation of the effects of smoking cessation on physiological and subjective indices of sexual health. Sixty-five long-term, heavy smoking men participated in a smoking cessation program and were assessed at baseline (while smoking regularly), at mid-treatment (while using a high dose nicotine transdermal patch), and at 4-week follow-up. Physiological and subjective sexual arousal indices, as well as self-reported sexual functioning (as measured by the International Index of Erectile Functioning (IIEF)) were assessed during each visit. Intent-to-treat analyses indicated that at followup successful quitters (n = 20), compared to those who relapsed (n = 45), showed significant improvements in physiological and subjective sexual arousal. Specifically, men demonstrated enhanced erectile responses, decreased latencies to reach maximum erectile capacity, and faster onset to reach maximum subjective sexual arousal. Although participants displayed across-session enhancements in self reported sexual function, successful quitters did not show a differential improvement compared to participants who relapsed. The results of the present investigation provide the first empirical evidence that smoking cessation significantly enhances both physiological and self-reported indices of sexual health in long-term male smokers, irrespective of baseline erectile impairment. It is hoped that these results may serve as a novel and enticing means to influence men to quit smoking. Increasing successful smoking cessation in men would significantly enhance quality of life, substantially reduce premature death, and alleviate enormous economic burdens caused by smoking-related diseases.Item The influence of personal characteristics, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control, and recent past behavior as predictors of university students’ intention to utilize emergency contraception(2011-05) Griggs, Scott Karr; Brown, Carolyn M., Ph. D.; Lawson, Kenneth A.; Rascati, Karen L.; Wilson, James P.; Hargrave, LanceThe purpose of this study was to use the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict university students’ intention to use emergency contraception (EC). The study explored the utility of the TPB model constructs (attitude [A], subjective norm [SN], perceived behavioral control [PBC]) as well as recent past behavior (RPB) to predict students’ intention to utilize EC. The study also investigated the significance of demographic and personal characteristics—age and gender in particular—as they relate to the TPB components and RPB. A web-based survey, developed from three structured focus groups, was pretested and emailed to 2,000 university students. An overall usable response rate of 21.0 percent was obtained. In general, university students intended to use EC should the need occur, held favorable attitudes toward the use of EC, were somewhat influenced by social norms regarding EC use, and perceived themselves to have some control over EC utilization. For direct measures (TPB), A, SN, and PBC were significant predictors of intention to use EC. The direct model explained 49.2 percent of the variance in intention. Using indirect measures, A and SN were significant predictors of intention, but PBC was not; the indirect model accounted for 41.3 percent of the variance in intention to take EC. Attitude was the strongest TPB predictor for both models, followed by SN and PBC. The RPB variable did not significantly improve the TPB model. While hypothesized age differences were not significant, gender differences showed female students having a more favorable A and SN as well as a stronger PBC (direct measures) toward the use of EC. In addition, several statistically significant relationships occurred between demographic/personal characteristics and the TPB constructs. In summary, this study identified several key factors that partially explain why university students either intend or do not intend to use EC if needed. The TPB has utility in predicting utilization of EC in university students. Focusing particular attention on A, as well as SN and PBC, will allow researchers, educators, healthcare professionals, and legislators to develop strategies and educational programs to enable men and women to use EC responsibly.Item Sexual health communication between mothers and adolescents(2011-08) Thornton, Anna Elise; Crosnoe, Robert; Cavanagh, Shannon E.Despite a number of public health initiatives targeting the sexual health of teenagers, teen pregnancy and STD rates in the U.S. remain exceptionally high. Although schools and peers are common sources of information for teens, research suggests that parents serve as one of the primary sources of sexual health information for adolescents. Many studies have focused on the content of parent-adolescent communication about sex, but more needs to be known about how such communication varies by adolescent gender and across different kinds of families. In this study, regression analysis assessed mother and adolescent In-Home interview data from Wave I of the Adolescent Health dataset (n = 20,745). Findings indicate that family structure and maternal education are somewhat predictive of the communication outcomes, yet adolescent gender remains the most significant factor in communication between mothers and adolescents. In short, mothers communicate more about sexual health with girls than boys, and this gender gap does not vary considerably across family structures or socioeconomic statuses based on maternal education.