Sexual Behavior

Sexual Science versus Progressive Advocacy: The Need for Resistance

Tracking Mouse Trajectories Related to Decisions About Sexual Interest Abstract The current research explored continuous behavioral processes by recording participants' hand movements toward a response option using Mousetracker software. Across three studies, we tested the idea that sexual interest-related decisions can be indexed using automatic movements. Using a UK sample of self-identified same- and opposite-gender attracted men (N = 43), Study 1 showed that the process of approaching the response button was faster, more direct, and less curved when participants responded from their own (vs. a non-preferred) perspective. Study 2 supported these findings using a German sample of self-identified same- and opposite-gender attracted men (N = 66). Using a teleiophilic sample of 100 self-identified opposite-gender attracted men (n = 51) and women (n = 49), Study 3 examined age-specific sexual interests (i.e., responding to stimuli from a pedophilic and a teleiophilic perspective). As expected, in the teleiophilic block, participants' responses were faster, more direct, and less curved than in the pedophilic block. Collectively, the results suggest that mousetracking shows promise as a measure of sexual interest (across the dimension of both gender and age), providing grounds for future research.

Identifying Basic Classes of Sexual Orientation with Latent Profile Analysis: Developing the Multivariate Sexual Orientation Classification System Abstract Despite considerable progress, research on sexual minorities has been hindered by a lack of clarity and consistency in defining sexual minority groups. Further, despite recent recommendations to assess the three main dimensions of sexual orientation—identity, behavior, and attraction—it remains unclear how best to integrate such multivariate information to define discrete sexual orientation groups, particularly when identity and behavior fail to match. The current study used a data-driven approach to identify a parsimonious set of sexual orientation classes. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was run within a large (N = 3182) and sexually diverse sample, using dimensions of sexual identity, behavior, and attraction as predictors. LPAs supported four fundamental sexual orientation classes not only in the overall sample, but also when conducted separately in men (n = 980) and women (n = 2175): heterosexual, homosexual, bisexual, and heteroflexible (a class representing individuals who self-identify as heterosexual or mostly heterosexual but report moderate same-sex sexual behavior and attraction). Heterosexuals reported the highest levels of psychological functioning and lowest risk behaviors. Homosexuals showed similarly high levels of psychological functioning to heterosexuals, but higher levels of risk behaviors. Bisexuals and heteroflexibles showed similarly low levels of psychological functioning and high risk taking. To facilitate applications of this classification approach, the study developed the Multivariate Sexual Orientation Classification System, reproducing the four LPA groups with 97% accuracy (kappa = .95) using just two items. Implications of this classification approach are discussed.

Exploratory Factor Analysis of Two Sexual Health Scales for Transgender People: Trans-Specific Condom/Barrier Negotiation Self-Efficacy (T-Barrier) and Trans-Specific Sexual Body Image Worries (T-Worries) Abstract Few sexual health measures have been validated for transgender (trans) populations. Condom/barrier self-efficacy and sexual body image worries are interrelated constructs that may contribute to enhanced and poor sexual health, respectively. We report on the development and initial validation of trans-specific scales designed to measure these constructs. Trans people in Ontario, Canada, who had ever had sex completed these scales as a part of a larger Trans PULSE survey (n = 323). Using exploratory factor analysis, a one-factor solution fit the 8-item Condom/Barrier Negotiation Self-Efficacy Scale (T-Barrier). Two factors were identified for the 7-item Sexual Body Image Worries Scale (T-Worries): "general body image worries" and "trans-related image worries," while two items were recommended for deletion. The scales demonstrated convergent validity with measures such as self-esteem, sexual anxiety, sexual satisfaction, sexual fear, and experiences of transphobia. Further evaluation to confirm these structures within an independent trans sample would be valuable. We recommend the use of these scales for studies of sexual health within trans populations, to enhance our ability to better understand and promote sexual health within trans communities.

Correction to: Sexual Identity and Behavior Among U.S. High School Students, 2005–2015 The following correction should be noted to the caption of Fig. 1 in this article.

Richard Green, M.D., J.D. (1936–2019)

Using Photovoice to Understand Suicidality Among Gay, Bisexual, and Two-Spirit Men Abstract This study explored the drivers of suicidality from the perspectives of gay, bisexual, and two-spirit men (GB2SM) with a history of suicidality. Twenty-one GB2SM participated in this photovoice study taking photographs to depict and discuss their previous suicidality. Data were collected from in-depth individual interviews in which participants discussed their photographs and in turn offered verbal/narrative accounts of suicidality. Drawing on intersectionality, analyses of the photographs and interview data revealed three interconnected themes. First, adverse childhood events and negative adolescent experiences were described as the root causes of mental health struggles and suicidality. Second, violence and homophobia had disrupted these men's education and employment opportunities and some participants detailed how their lack of capital and challenges for maintaining employment shaped their suicidality. Third, a sociality of stigma and sense of isolation compounded experiences of suicidality. The three themes overlapped and were shaped by multiple intersectional axes including sexuality, class, ethnicity, and mental health status. The findings have implications for services and health professionals working with GB2SM who need to thoughtfully consider life-course trajectories and multiple social axes when assessing and treating GB2SM experiencing suicidality. More so, because these factors relate to social inequities, structural and policy changes warrant targeted attention.

Power and Privilege in the Field of Sexuality Research and Beyond

Uncertainty and Posttraumatic Stress: Differences Between Mothers and Fathers of Infants with Disorders of Sex Development Abstract Parents of children with disorders of sex development (DSD) report significant psychological distress, including posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), with mothers consistently reporting higher rates of psychological distress than fathers. However, psychological factors contributing to PTSS in both parents are not well understood. The present study sought to fill this gap in knowledge by examining PTSS and illness uncertainty, a known predictor of psychological distress, in parents of children recently diagnosed with DSD. Participants were 52 mothers (Mage = 32.55 years, SD = 5.08) and 41 fathers (Mage = 35.53 years, SD = 6.78) of 53 infants (Mage = 9.09 months, SD = 6.19) with DSD and associated atypical genital development. Participants were recruited as part of a larger, multisite study assessing parents' psychosocial response to their child's diagnosis of DSD. Parents completed measures of illness uncertainty and PTSS. Mothers reported significantly greater levels of PTSS, but not illness uncertainty, than fathers, and were more likely than fathers to report clinical levels of PTSS (21.2% compared to 7.3%). Hierarchical regression revealed that parent sex, undiagnosed or unclassified DSD status, and illness uncertainty were each associated with PTSS. The overall model accounted for 23.5% of the variance associated with PTSS. Interventions targeting illness uncertainty may be beneficial for parents of children with newly diagnosed DSD.

Visual Attention to Sexual Stimuli in Mostly Heterosexuals Abstract Individuals who report mostly heterosexual orientations (i.e., mostly sexually attracted to the opposite sex, but occasionally attracted to the same sex) outnumber all other non-heterosexual individuals combined. The present study examined whether mostly heterosexual men and women view same- and other-sex sexual stimuli differently than exclusively heterosexual men and women. A novel eye-tracking paradigm was used with 162 mostly and exclusively heterosexual men and women. Compared to exclusively heterosexual men, mostly heterosexual men demonstrated greater attention to sexually explicit features (i.e., genital regions and genital contact regions) of solo male and male–male erotic stimuli, while demonstrating equivalent attention to sexually explicit features of solo female and female–female erotic stimuli. Mediation analyses suggested that differences between mostly and exclusively heterosexual profiles in men could be explained by mostly heterosexual men's increased sexual attraction to solo male erotica, and their increased sexual attraction and reduced disgust to the male–male erotica. No comparable differences in attention were observed between mostly and exclusively heterosexual women—although mostly heterosexual women did demonstrate greater fixation on visual erotica overall—a pattern of response that was found to be mediated by reduced disgust.

Alexandros Sfakianakis
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