Anxious Attachment, Social Isolation, and Indicators of Sex Drive and Compulsivity: Predictors of Child Sexual Abuse Perpetration in Adolescent Males?

It has been suggested that child sexual abuse is related to poor attachment to parents, which is associated with an inability to form intimate relationships. Seto and Lalumière indicated that there were too few studies of adolescent males to determine whether poor attachment was associated with perpetration. 

This study was designed to follow up on a previous study and further explored the association between insecure attachment to parents, social isolation, and interpersonal adequacy to child sexual abuse perpetration in adolescents. We compared two samples of adolescent males who had committed sexual offenses, those who committed offenses against children (n = 140) and those who committed offenses against peer or adults (n = 92), with a sample of similarly aged males in treatment for mental health or substance use issues (n = 93). Data were collected using a semi-structured interview and computer-administered questionnaire. 

We found an indirect association between anxious attachment and sexual offenses against child victims, which was accounted for by measures of social involvement and social isolation. These involvement and isolation measures also did not have a direct association with sexual offenses against child victims, in that their contribution was accounted for by a measure of Masculine Adequacy. This Masculine Adequacy, combined with decreased levels of Sexual Preoccupation and Hypersexuality and increased Sexual Compulsivity, was associated with commission of child sexual abuse. 

The interpersonal variables did not enter a model predicting sexual offending against peers/adults, which seemed solely associated with the interaction between Sexual Compulsivity and Hypersexuality.

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By:  Miner MH1, Swinburne Romine R2, Robinson BB2, Berg D2, Knight RA3

• 1University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA miner001@umn.edu.
• 2University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA.
• 3Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA. 
• Sex Abuse. 2016 Mar;28(2):132-53. doi: 10.1177/1079063214547585. Epub 2014 Aug 20.

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Outcome Expectancy and Sexual Compulsivity among Men Who Have Sex with Men Living with HIV

Sexual compulsivity is operationalized by engaging in repetitive sexual acts, having multiple sexual partners and/or the excessive use of pornography. Outcome expectancy refers to the beliefs about the consequences of engaging in a given behavior. Research examining the relationship between outcome expectancy and sexual compulsivity is limited. 

The aim of this study was to assess the association between outcome expectancy and sexual compulsivity among men who have sex with men (MSM) living with HIV. Data were obtained from 338 MSM. Simple and multiple linear regression models were used to assess the association between outcome expectancy and sexual compulsivity. 

After adjusting for age, race/ethnicity, income, education, and employment status, for every one point increase in outcome expectancies for condom use, HIV disclosure and negotiation of safer sex practices, there was, on average, an approximate one point decrease in sexual compulsivity score. 

Prevention and intervention programs geared towards reducing sexual compulsivity among MSM should focus on increasing outcome expectancies for condom use, HIV disclosure and negotiation of safer sex practices.

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By:  Brown MJ1, Serovich JM2, Kimberly JA2.

• 1College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, 33612, FL, USA. brownm3@usf.edu.
• 2College of Behavioral and Community Sciences, University of South Florida, Tampa, 33612, FL, USA. 
• AIDS Behav. 2016 Mar 15.

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Sexual Sensation Seeking, Sexual Compulsivity & High-Risk Sexual Behaviours among Gay/Bisexual Men in Southwest China

High-risk sexual behaviours (HRSBs), such as having male casual sexual partners (MCSPs) and unprotected anal intercourse (UAI), are combined with a high prevalence of HIV infection among gay/bisexual men. 

Sexual sensation seeking (SSS) and sexual compulsivity (SC), which are intrapersonal factors, were observed to have associations with HRSB among gay/bisexual men in Western nations. The aim of the study was to examine the relationships between SSS, SC, socio-demographic factors, and HRSB (defined as having MCSP and UAI with MCSP) among self-identified gay and bisexual men in Southwest China. The study was cross-sectional, with a sample of 436 respondents. And their mean age was 24.5 years. 

The results confirmed that SSS, SC, and sexual attitude are associated with both having MCSP and UAI with MCSP in the Chinese cultural context, among the subgroup of men who have sex with men. Being older, not a student, and having transactional sex in the last 6 months were independently associated with having MCSP. Lower educational level, unemployed, having a relationship with a man, and an unsure HIV status were independently associated with UAI with MCSP. This study indicates that SSS and SC are cross-cultural personality traits related to HRSB. The results of this study may shed light on HIV prevention among gay/bisexual men in China.

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By:  Xu W1,2, Zheng L2, Liu Y2, Zheng Y1,2.

• 1 Center for Studies of Education and Psychology of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China , Southwest University , Chongqing , People's Republic of China.
• 2 Faculty of Psychology , Southwest University , Chongqing , People's Republic of China.
• AIDS Care. 2016 Feb 28:1-7. 

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Sexual Compulsivity and Sexual Sensation Seeking: A Preliminary Approach among Male Sex Workers Compared to Gay Men in Spain

This study aims to explore Sexual Compulsivity (SC) and Sexual Sensation Seeking (SSS) in Male Sex Workers (MSW) compared to a group of non-MSW gay men. 

A total of 60 MSW and 63 gay men answered the SC Scale and the SSS Scale. The total scales' mean score was slightly higher in the MSW population. Still, statistical differences were observed in two SSS items only. In spite of the absence of statistical significance, MSW presented more sexual behavior interferences on their lives and higher failure to control sexual impulses. 

Future interventions among MSW should focus on sexual self-control and impulsivity.

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By:   Salmerón-Sánchez P1, Arnal RB2, Llario MD3, Morell-Mengual V4.

• 1 Jaume I University, Basic and Clinical Psycology and Psycobiology , Castellón , Spain.
• 2 Jaume I University, Basic and Clinic Psycology and Psycobiology, Avda. Sos Baynat S/n , Castellón , 12004 Spain.
• 3 University of Valencia. General Study , Developmental and Education Psychology , Valencia , Spain.
• 4 Universitat de València.Estudi General, Psicología Evolutiva y de la Educación , Valencia , Spain. 

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Time-Varying Risk Factors and Sexual Aggression Perpetration among Male College Students

Purpose

Preventing sexual aggression (SA) can be informed by determining if time-varying risk factors differentiate men who follow different sexual aggression risk trajectories.

Methods

Data are from a longitudinal study with 795 college males surveyed at the end of each of their 4 years of college in 2008–2011. Repeated measures general linear models tested if changes in risk factors corresponded with sexual aggression trajectory membership.

Results

Changes in the risk factors corresponded with SA trajectories. Men who came to college with a history of SA but decreased their perpetration likelihood during college showed concurrent decreases in sexual compulsivity, impulsivity, hostile attitudes toward women, rape supportive beliefs, perceptions of peer approval of forced sex, and perceptions of peer pressure to have sex with many different women, and smaller increases in pornography use over their college years. Conversely, men who increased levels of SA over time demonstrated larger increases in risk factors in comparison to other trajectory groups.

Conclusions

The odds that males engaged in sexual aggression corresponded with changes in key risk factors. Risk factors were not static and interventions designed to alter them may lead to changes in sexual aggression risk.

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By:  Martie P. Thompson, Ph.D., Jeffrey Brooks Kingree, Ph.D., Heidi Zinzow, Ph.D., Kevin Swartout, Ph.D.

Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, and Department of Youth, Family, and Community Studies, Clemson University, Clemson, South Carolina

Correspondence

Address correspondence to: Martie P. Thompson, Ph.D., Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, 2083 Barre Hall, Clemson University, Clemson, SC 29634.

 

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"Outness" as a Moderator of the Association Between Syndemic Conditions and HIV Risk-Taking Behavior among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Tijuana, Mexico

Multiple psychosocial conditions tend to co-occur and contribute to higher risk for HIV among men who have sex with men (MSM), a phenomenon known as syndemics. Less is known about moderating factors that may attenuate the relation between syndemic conditions and sexual risk-taking. 

We examined disclosure of same-sex sexual behavior or "outness" as a moderating factor of the syndemic effect. We recruited a sample of MSM (n = 191) using respondent-driven sampling in Tijuana, Mexico. Participants completed a survey of syndemic conditions (i.e., substance use, depression, violence, internalized homophobia, and sexual compulsivity), sexual risk-taking (i.e., condom unprotected anal sex with a stranger in the past 2 months), and the degree to which they are "out" about sex with men. 

Consistent with previous research, we found that men who report more syndemic conditions show a greater prevalence of sexual risk-taking. As predicted, men who were out to more people showed a weaker association between syndemic conditions and sexual risk-taking, whereas men who were out to fewer people showed the strongest association. 

This study is the first to provide evidence of "outness" as a moderating factor that attenuates syndemic effects on sexual risk-taking. Building upon previous research, the data suggest that "outness" may be a resilience factor for MSM in Tijuana. HIV prevention intervention implications are discussed.

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By:  Pitpitan EV1, Smith LR, Goodman-Meza D, Torres K, Semple SJ, Strathdee SA, Patterson TL.

• 1Division of Global Public Health, Department of Medicine, University of California at San Diego, Mail Code 0507, 9500 Gilman Drive, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0680, USA, epitpitan@ucsd.edu. 

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Linking Syndemic Stress and Behavioral Indicators of Main Partner HIV Transmission Risk in Gay Male Couples

The purpose of the current study was to examine whether syndemic stress in partnered gay men might undermine communication processes essential to the utilization of negotiated safety and other harm reduction strategies that rely on partners' HIV status disclosure. 

Participants included 100 gay male couples (N = 200 individuals) living in the U.S., who responded to an online survey. Participants completed measures of five syndemic factors (depression, poly-drug use, childhood sexual abuse, intimate partner violence, and sexual compulsivity). They also reported on whether condoms were used during first intercourse together and the timing of first condomless anal intercourse (CAI) relative to HIV disclosure in their relationship. 

Results of binary logistic regression analyses supported the hypothesis that the sum of partners' syndemic stress was negatively associated with condom use at first intercourse and with HIV disclosure prior to first CAI. Syndemic stress may contribute to HIV transmission risk between main partners in part because it accelerates the progression to CAI and interferes with communication processes central to harm reduction strategies utilized by gay men in relationships. 

Implications for prevention strategies and couples interventions, such as couples HIV counseling and testing, that facilitate communication skill-building, are discussed.

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By:  Starks TJ1,2,3, Tuck AN3, Millar BM2,3, Parsons JT4,5,6.

• 1Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA.
• 2Health Psychology and Clinical Science Doctoral Program, Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA.
• 3Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), 142 W 36th St. 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10018, USA.
• 4Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), 695 Park Avenue, New York, NY, 10065, USA. jeffrey.parsons@hunter.cuny.edu.
• 5Health Psychology and Clinical Science Doctoral Program, Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), 365 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10016, USA. jeffrey.parsons@hunter.cuny.edu.
• 6Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), 142 W 36th St. 9th Floor, New York, NY, 10018, USA. jeffrey.parsons@hunter.cuny.edu. 

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Shame, Sexual Compulsivity & Eroticizing Flirtatious Others: An Experimental Study

Clinical observation and correlational studies with nonclinical samples suggest that a linkage between negative affective states (especially shame) and engagement in erotic pursuits typifies sexual compulsivity. 

The present study tested whether experimental induction of shame leads to increased interest in erotically suggestive targets among more sexually compulsive individuals. A total of 74 age-traditional heterosexual university students first recalled either an emotionally neutral or a shame-inducing personal experience, then completed a nonpredictive gaze-cueing task featuring flirtatious or emotionally neutral faces of the same or opposite sex. They also rated the faces' attractiveness and completed a validated sexual compulsivity scale and two control measures (executive control, sociosexuality). 

Higher (versus lower) sexual compulsivity predicted weaker gaze-triggered attentional orienting in response to the flirtatious opposite-sex face in the shame (versus neutral) condition, and this was accounted for by (higher) attractiveness ratings of the flirtatious opposite-sex face. 

Shame thus appears to increase sexualization (i.e., reduces salience of agentic features and increases appeal of physical attributes) of erotically suggestive targets among more sexually compulsive individuals.

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By: Petrican R1, Burris CT, Moscovitch M.

• 1Rotman Research Institute.

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Transactional Sex among Men Who Have Sex with Men in Latin America: Economic, Sociodemographic & Psychosocial Factors

We assessed factors associated with engagement in transactional sex among men who have sex with men recruited from one of the largest Internet sites for men seeking social or sexual interactions with other men in Latin America.

We constructed multilevel logistic regression models to analyze factors associated with engagement in transactional sex in 17 Latin American countries in 2012.

Of 24 051 respondents, 1732 (7.2%) reported being paid for sexual intercourse in the past 12 months. In a multivariable model, 

• higher country-level unemployment was associated with increased odds of transactional sex (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.07 per 1% increase in unemployment). 
• Individual or interpersonal factors associated with increased odds of engagement in transactional sex included self-reported HIV or sexually transmitted infection
• childhood sexual abuse history
• intimate partner violence 
• and sexual compulsivity 

Structural-level economic interventions and those that address individual and interpersonal factors may improve HIV prevention efforts among men who have sex with men who engage in transactional sex.

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By: Oldenburg CE1, Perez-Brumer AG, Biello KB, Landers SJ, Rosenberger JG, Novak DS, Mayer KH, Mimiaga MJ.

• 1Catherine E. Oldenburg is with the Department of Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. Amaya G. Perez-Brumer is with the Department of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University, New York, NY. Katie B. Biello and Kenneth H. Mayer are with the Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, MA. Stewart J. Landers is with John Snow, Inc., Boston, MA. Joshua G. Rosenberger is with the Department of Global and Community Health, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA. David S. Novak is with the OLB Research Institute, Online Buddies, Inc., Cambridge, MA. Matthew J. Mimiaga is with the Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. 

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Extradyadic Sexual Involvement & Sexual Compulsivity in Male & Female Sexual Abuse Survivors

We tested a mediation model in which the relationship between child sexual abuse (CSA) severity and extradyadic sexual involvement (ESI) is explained through sexual compulsivity. 

Participants were 669 adults currently involved in an intimate relationship who completed self-report questionnaires. 

Prevalence of ESI was 32% in women and 57% in men survivors, more than twice the rates among participants with no CSA history. Sexual compulsivity was significantly higher in participants with multiple extradyadic partners as compared to participants reporting only one extradyadic relationship, who nevertheless scored higher than participants reporting no extradyadic partner. 

The hypothesized structural equation model (SEM) was invariant across men and women and indicated CSA severity was positively and significantly associated with sexual compulsivity, which, in turn, predicted ESI. However, there was also a direct association between CSA and ESI. High CSA severity, directly and through high sexual compulsivity, led to the highest probability of ESI.

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By: Vaillancourt-Morel MP1, Dugal C2, Stewart RP1, Godbout N3, Sabourin S1, Lussier Y4, Briere J5.

• 1a École de psychologie , Université Laval.
• 2b Département de psychologie , Université du Québec à Montréal.
• 3e Département de sexologie , Université du Québec à Montréal.
• 4c Département de psychologie , Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières.
• 5d Keck School of Medicine , University of Southern California , Los Angeles. 

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