Misclassification bias: diversity in conceptualisations about having 'had sex'

Sexual Health ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 31 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie A. Sanders ◽  
Brandon J. Hill ◽  
William L. Yarber ◽  
Cynthia A. Graham ◽  
Richard A. Crosby ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Anal Intercourse ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
Sexual Behaviours ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
Sexual History Taking ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Random Digit Dialling

Background: Understanding the signification of the word ‘sex’ has implications for both medical research and clinical practice. Little is known about how people of varying ages define sex and how situational qualifiers influence definitions across age groups. To our knowledge, this is the first study of a representative sample to assess attitudes about which sexual behaviours constitute having ‘had sex’ and to examine possible mediating factors (gender, age, giving/receiving stimulation, male ejaculation, female orgasm, condom use or brevity). Methods: A telephone survey of English-speaking residents of Indiana (USA) using random-digit-dialling produced a final sample of 204 men and 282 women (n = 486) ranging in age from 18 to 96 years. Questions assessed the respondents’ attitudes on manual-genital (MG), oral-genital (OG), penile-vaginal intercourse (PVI) and penile-anal intercourse (PAI) behaviours. Results: There was no universal consensus on which behaviours constituted having ‘had sex’. More than 90% responded ‘yes’ to PVI but one in five responded ‘no’ to PAI, three in 10 responded ‘no’ to OG and about half endorsed MG. Fewer endorsed PVI with no male ejaculation (89.1%) compared with PVI without a qualifier (94.8%, P < 0.001). MG was endorsed more often when received (48.1%) than given (44.9%, P < 0.001). Among men, the oldest and youngest age groups were significantly less likely to believe certain behaviours constituted having ‘had sex’. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need to use behaviour-specific terminology in sexual history taking, sex research, sexual health promotion and sex education. Researchers, educators and medical practitioners should exercise caution and not assume that their own definitions of having ‘had sex’ are shared by their research participants or patients.

Snapshots of tellings in interactions between adults and children aged two, three and three and a half in an Australian context

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 119-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Filipi
Keyword(s):  
Social Activity ◽  
Second Child ◽  
Object A ◽  
Birthday Party ◽  
Final Sample ◽  
The Social ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Adults And Children ◽  
English Speaking ◽  
Australian English

This paper examines how and by whom tellings with two young children are triggered at ages 23, 36 and 42 months. The data for the investigation is derived from a larger Australian English corpus of over 50 hours of interactions in the home, although one of the children is a bilingual Italian/ English-speaking child. The data is derived from two parent/child dyads, and in the case of the child aged 42 months, a triadic interaction between a mother, her own child and a second child. Using the micro-analytic methods of conversation analysis, the study analyses five samples of tellings. The first two describe how a child, Cassandra, aged 23 months, is invited to recount events of her day by her parents. The trigger for these tellings is the social activity of sharing everyday routine events. The next two samples focus on Rosie at 36 months who is also invited to share a telling by her parent about a birthday party celebration and one about a neighbourhood cat, Claude. The first telling is triggered by an object, a balloon from a birthday party from the day before, while the second is triggered by play involving the character of a cat, initially derived from a favourite story, Hairy Maclary. In the final sample, Cassandra, aged 42 months, initiates a telling about an experience at her grandmother’s which is trigged by a picture in a book. The analyses in each case reveal the interactional issues that arise in the action of telling and how these are dealt with by all participants. By focusing on the three ages, key features in the children’s participation in storytelling are uncovered.

Modeling Migration: Analyzing Migration Histories from a San Blas Cuna Community

1983 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 9-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frances Stier
Keyword(s):  
Sex Education ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Transition Probabilities ◽  
Age Groups ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Individual Characteristics ◽  
Community Control ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Markov Chain Models ◽  
Log Odds

This paper discusses the cultural context of migration in a community in eastern San Blas, Panama, describes recent changes in absence rates for male and female age groups, and develops a simple stochastic model for residential change during 1970-71 and 1975-76. Rates of absence have risen markedly among males: in 1968, about 10% of the male labor froce resided outside the community; in 1977, absentees accounted for over 40% of the male labor force. Rates of female absence have remained extremely low. The rate of out-migration for the community as a whole, however, has fluctuated between 4.3% and 4.7% between 1965 and 1976, while the rate of return migration has increased. On the average, the number of years spent in wage work away from the reservation was greater for average households than for wealthy ones. This difference may be linked to the relatively limited amounts of land for staple crops available to average households. Classical Markov chain models assume transition probabilities are uniform for a whole population, but recent studies have used multiple regression to estimate the effects of individual characteristics on transition probabilities. Observed frequencies are outside the range where ordinary least squares techniques are appropriate, so this paper uses minimum logit chi-square regression to estimate the effects of age, sex, education, and position within the household on the log-odds on remaining within the community or remaining outside it. The results agree with what we know of community control over women and over men working in the households of their fathers-in-law.

Addressing sexually transmissible infection in HIV-positive patients. A clinical audit

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 75 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Esler ◽  
Catriona Ooi
Keyword(s):  
New England ◽  
Clinical Audit ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
Hiv Positive ◽  
History Taking ◽  
Health Unit ◽  
Sti Testing ◽  
Sexual History Taking ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infection ◽  
Transmissible Infection

Australian guidelines for sexual history taking and sexually transmissible infection (STI) screening of HIV-positive patients do not exist. An audit was conducted to assess current practices of sexual history taking and STI testing of HIV-positive patients attending Hunter New England Sexual Health Unit.

Sexual risk assessment in general practice: evidence from a New South Wales survey

Sexual Health ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Asaduzzaman Khan ◽  
David Plummer ◽  
Rafat Hussain ◽  
Victor Minichiello
Keyword(s):  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Sexual Risk ◽  
New South ◽  
New South Wales ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
History Taking ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Sexually Transmissible Infections ◽  
Sexual History Taking ◽  
Sexual Histories

Background: Physicians’ inadequate involvement in sexual risk assessment has the potential to miss many asymptomatic cases. The present study was conducted to explore sexual risk assessment by physicians in clinical practice and to identify barriers in eliciting sexual histories from patients. Methods: A stratified random sample of 15% of general practitioners (GP) from New South Wales was surveyed to assess their management of sexually transmissible infections (STI). In total, 409 GP participated in the survey with a response rate of 45.4%. Results: Although nearly 70% of GP regularly elicited a sexual history from commercial sex workers whose presenting complaint was not an STI, this history taking was much lower (<10%) among GP for patients who were young or heterosexual. About 23% never took a sexual history from Indigenous patients and 19% never elicited this history from lesbian patients. Lack of time was the most commonly cited barrier in sexual history taking (55%), followed by a concern that patients might feel uncomfortable if a sexual history was taken (49%). Other constraints were presence of another person (39%) and physician’s embarrassment (15%). About 19% of GP indicated that further training in sexual history taking could improve their practice. Conclusions: The present study identifies inconsistent involvement by GP in taking sexual histories, which can result in missed opportunities for early detection of many STI. Options for overcoming barriers to taking sexual histories by GP are discussed.

Sexual history taking in primary care

2021 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 308-311
Author(s):  
Sarah Kipps
Keyword(s):  
Primary Care ◽  
Sexual Health ◽  
Health Professional ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Sexual History ◽  
History Taking ◽  
Medical Assessment ◽  
Men And Women ◽  
Sexual History Taking ◽  
The Subject

Sexual history can be neglected in a routine nursing or medical assessment. Sarah Kipps gives tips to assist in making a sexual history taking session as comfortable as possible for both health professional and patient Practitioners in primary care are in a unique position to improve the sexual health of men and women. They can do this by introducing the topic of sexual health into their everyday consultations and thereby normalising the subject as part of routine health for the patient. There is evidence that health professionals find sexual history taking to be one of the more challenging aspects of a consultation. There are a number of different reasons for this: feeling not equipped to ask questions of such a sensitive nature; fear of opening a ‘can of worms’ which cannot be dealt with; and the general social embarrassment and difficulties experienced talking about sex in general. This article will give health professionals some tips and guides to assist in making a sexual history taking session as comfortable as possible for both health professional and patient.

Sexual History Taking

2021 ◽  
Vol Publish Ahead of Print ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Janine Mintz ◽  
Scott Emory Moore
Keyword(s):  
Sexual History ◽  
History Taking ◽  
Sexual History Taking
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