Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios

Background: College represents a time of independent decision making, increased exposure to substances, and new, less supervised, opportunities for sexual behaviors and new partners. Despite the high prevalence of sexual risk behaviors in adolescent males pursuing higher education, there are still l...

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Main Authors: Allison Lazor, Dianne Morrison-Beedy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: The Ohio State University Libraries 2022-12-01
Series:Building Healthy Academic Communities Journal
Subjects:
Online Access:https://library.osu.edu/ojs/index.php/BHAC/article/view/9295
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author Allison Lazor
Dianne Morrison-Beedy
author_facet Allison Lazor
Dianne Morrison-Beedy
author_sort Allison Lazor
collection DOAJ
description Background: College represents a time of independent decision making, increased exposure to substances, and new, less supervised, opportunities for sexual behaviors and new partners. Despite the high prevalence of sexual risk behaviors in adolescent males pursuing higher education, there are still limited evidence-based interventions for sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and pregnancy prevention tailored for this population. Aim: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the perspectives of males on role play situations used in a sexual risk reduction program tailored for adolescent girls to obtain feedback on creating effective prevention programs for males. Methods: We conducted a focus group with males entering college. We analyzed the transcribed data to assess the relevance, realism, and utility of role-playing and to gain insight into the participant’s communication styles and approaches to risk reduction. Results: Four major themes were identified using conventional content analysis: (1) Non-verbal responses and “the vibe” are the go ahead for consent for sex, (2) Jokes and excuses are common communication skills used for risk reduction, (3) Prevention of pregnancy is more of a concern than STI or HIV prevention, and (4) Being gaslighted regarding mental health issues by girls was not uncommon. Conclusions: Findings from this pilot study can help inform sexual risk reduction intervention programming for males entering new environments such as the college-setting.
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spelling doaj.art-7a62fbbaaea041f7b9f2ef5e3a18f2c62022-12-22T03:54:53ZengThe Ohio State University LibrariesBuilding Healthy Academic Communities Journal2573-76432022-12-0162445210.18061/bhac.v6i2.92958473Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play ScenariosAllison Lazor0Dianne Morrison-Beedy1The Ohio State UniversityThe Ohio State UniversityBackground: College represents a time of independent decision making, increased exposure to substances, and new, less supervised, opportunities for sexual behaviors and new partners. Despite the high prevalence of sexual risk behaviors in adolescent males pursuing higher education, there are still limited evidence-based interventions for sexually transmitted infections (STI), human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and pregnancy prevention tailored for this population. Aim: The aim of this study was to gain insight into the perspectives of males on role play situations used in a sexual risk reduction program tailored for adolescent girls to obtain feedback on creating effective prevention programs for males. Methods: We conducted a focus group with males entering college. We analyzed the transcribed data to assess the relevance, realism, and utility of role-playing and to gain insight into the participant’s communication styles and approaches to risk reduction. Results: Four major themes were identified using conventional content analysis: (1) Non-verbal responses and “the vibe” are the go ahead for consent for sex, (2) Jokes and excuses are common communication skills used for risk reduction, (3) Prevention of pregnancy is more of a concern than STI or HIV prevention, and (4) Being gaslighted regarding mental health issues by girls was not uncommon. Conclusions: Findings from this pilot study can help inform sexual risk reduction intervention programming for males entering new environments such as the college-setting.https://library.osu.edu/ojs/index.php/BHAC/article/view/9295adolescent healthsexual health educationqualitative researchcollege-entering malesacademic health
spellingShingle Allison Lazor
Dianne Morrison-Beedy
Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios
Building Healthy Academic Communities Journal
adolescent health
sexual health education
qualitative research
college-entering males
academic health
title Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios
title_full Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios
title_fullStr Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios
title_full_unstemmed Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios
title_short Insight into Sexual Risk Reduction for College-Entering Males Reacting to Gender-Tailored Role Play Scenarios
title_sort insight into sexual risk reduction for college entering males reacting to gender tailored role play scenarios
topic adolescent health
sexual health education
qualitative research
college-entering males
academic health
url https://library.osu.edu/ojs/index.php/BHAC/article/view/9295
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