Sexual Health

Sex. It is everywhere. We see in television shows. In magazines. On the Internet. But sex is still seen as a taboo subject in our society. I believe that being educated about sexuality is vitally important to one health. Understanding one’s body and how it impacts your life. To understand how your beliefs about sexuality and sex have developed one needs to look back over the years and how your beliefs were engrained in your life. This essay will be based on my reflection by looking back on my sexual history on how and what have significantly impacted my development of sexuality. The focus will be on my reflection of answering the sexual history questions and how I have changed and developed over the years. It is important to analyze and reflect to understand how I came to be today, that the past has created my ideas and beliefs about sex and sexuality that have shaped me.

Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.

The day to day experiences of individuals with learning disabilities and their families are affected by the policies and legislations in place because it provides rights and entitlements for the individuals and their families. Furthermore, these rights are upheld and protected from discrimination which is very important as it gives them more opportunities. In addition to this, by offering as person-centred care it gives the individual the choice of their care and how they receive it which gives them the freedom of how they would like to live. Moreover, the policies gives the individuals an equal opportunity to access public services, employment and health care which also relates to them being able to live within their community. This is because

The Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale (BSAS) (Hendrick, Hendrick, & Reich, 2006), a 23-item questionnaire, was designed to measure multi-dimensional attitudes towards sex. The scale is a modified version of the original Sexual Attitudes Scale. For the current study, the Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale will be modified and shortened. The scale is made up of the following four subscales: Permissiveness, Birth Control, Communion, and Instrumentality. Some of the items refer to a specific sexual relationship, while others refer to general attitudes and beliefs about sex. Participants are instructed to answer questions with their current partner in mind. If the respondent is not currently dating anyone, he or she should answer with the most recent partner in mind. If the respondent has never had a sexual

The sexuality and reproductive assessment helps describes sexual fulfillment, sexual perception, and sexual self –concepts. (Edelman & Mandel, 2011). This assessment is focused on the satisfaction of one’s sexual life, and the changes that take place throughout a lifespan. Another pattern is the coping-stress tolerance pattern. This focuses on the family’s adaption to internal and external pressures related to their health, environment, and social status and how they cope with these pressures in their day to day lives. Finally, the last pattern is the values and belief pattern. Values and beliefs vary in different cultures. Therefore, the focus of this pattern is one’s attitude regarding the meaning of life, spirituality, and how these attitudes affect the family related health problems. (Edelman & Mandle, 2011).

They see the overwhelming importance given to sexual attractiveness in the media-one study estimated that the average teenager ahs witnessed nearly 14,000 sexual encounters on television- yet they also hear their parents and religious advisers telling them that sex is wrong. As a result, many young people begin having sex without really intending to and without taking precautions against pregnancy.

Since the 1980’s, the HIV epidemic continues to affect individuals all over the world; the HIV virus can affect any individual regardless of their socioeconomic status. HIV is a human immunodeficiency virus that is believed to have originated in Africa during the 1920’s, however, it did not spread to other continents until the 1980’s. According to the center for disease control and prevention, HIV is most prevalent in African-American communities. Unfortunately, it appears that the HIV virus is increasingly affecting African American women with a low SES status. One’s SES status is determined by one’s social and economic standing; SES is often measured by one’s level of education and income. One’s socioeconomic status may determine how an individual

Low-income Americans and racial and ethnic minorities have higher rates of disease, fewer treatment options, and reduced access to care.(1) Disparities already apparent among these groups will continue to increase with high unemployment rates. Globally the wealth gap is widening causing inequalities in resource access which disproportionately affects the quality of life of the impoverished. The origins of poor health for millions worldwide are rooted in economic, social and political injustices. While poverty is linked to higher risk for numerous adverse health effects, it is usually not directly addressed in public health interventions. Domestically and internationally HIV is rooted in economic and social inequity, as it impacts those of

Various studies show evidence that link the relationship between social determinants of health and the risk for HIV. Interrelated social determinants of health can create a context of vulnerability and risk for HIV. It is very important to be able to recognize the interrelation components of HIV risk in order determine the HIV prevention response that is the most effective. For instance, research shows that HIV rates are significantly higher in Black men who have sex with men (MSM) than for MSM of other races. These rates, which are very disproportionate, are not attributable to a higher frequency of sexual risk behaviors. To appropriately address risk for MSM of different races, it is imperative to understand the process of disease transmission among these populations, in other words, the social determinants of health that are involved, such as access to healthcare (CHLA, 2012).

For this health promotion assignment, the subject I have chosen to discuss is sexually transmitted infections (STI’s). STIs are spread from one person to another through intimate sexual contact but can also spread through non-sexual means such as via the blood or from mother to child during pregnancy (World health organisation (WHO), 2016). According to Mudhar (2013) groups that are particularly at a higher risk are young adults, men who have sex with men (MSM), black African and Caribbean communities. With more than one million STI’s acquired everyday worldwide, it is a major public health issue within society (WHO, 2016). Even though the overall health of the population in England has significantly improved over the past 50 years because of the highly valued NHS, health inequalities are still a dominant feature of health across all regions in England and many people still find it hard to accept that serious health inequalities still exist (Marmot, 2010).

Human sexuality is defined as the capability of individuals to experience their sexuality and be able to express themselves as sexual beings (Hyde & DeLameck, 2006). Our interest in this topic is because with time, there has been a change in rules that control human sexual behaviour. The status quo in our contemporary society is much different as compared to an earlier state of conditions, and the change has, as a result, brought the evolvement in human sexuality. People 's view on virginity has changed greatly with a decrease of importance in regards to its preservation. Sexuality is essential to the economic, cultural, social and political organization of society or country. Our sexuality plays a fundamental role in all our lives regardless of age, sex or race. It forms a basic part of our personality and the decisions we make in what we do. One’s sexuality also consumes much of their time through behaviour or thoughts; at times every aspect of our lives seems to revolve around our sexuality. Studying sexuality is very important since human sexuality majorly contributes to social as well as personal problems. A lingering question concerning this topic is to what extent is virginity determined by the status quo and the rules that control human behaviour?

Thesis: I am here today to persuade you all to practice chastity or sexual abstinence because it can reduce the risks of STDs as well as unwanted pregnancy and teenage marriage, all of which create a domino effect of harmful health, social, and economic problems.

While parents would like their children to wait as long as possible to begin having sex, the reality is that teens are having sex much younger than many parents think. Some teens, or preteens, begin having sex or engaging in sexual behavior in junior high. By the time they are seniors in high school, an estimated 65 percent of teens have had sex, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2007. (Dawn, 2009). Unfortunately, a percentage of those teens will become pregnant. After more than a decade and a half of decline (a 27 percent drop from 1991 to 2000), teen birth rates rose again in 2006, which was the last year for which data are available. It is still unclear on what caused teen birth rates to rise again, with supporters of abstinence-only sex education programs and contraception-based programs each blaming the other side for the increase. However, a 2007 study in the Journal of American Public Health attributed the trend in decreasing pregnancy rates to improved contraception use among teens during that time. (Anderson Orr, 2009).

Statistics from recent studies suggest that only 13% of U.S. teens have ever had sex by the age of 15. But by the age of 19, seven in ten teens of both sexes have had sex. Between 1995 and 2006-2008, the percentage of teens aged 15-17 who had ever engaged in sexual intercourse declined from 38% to 28%. Among teens aged 18-19, it declined from 68% in 1995 to 60% in 2006-2008. The pregnancy rate among young women has declined steadily from 117 pregnancies per 1,000 women aged 15-19 in 1990 to 70 per 1,000 in 2005. However in 2006, the rate increased for the first time in more than a decade, rising to

The practice of casual sex is more popular among American teenagers; however, the feelings of independence and empowerment obtained by it are not the only consequences. Having multiple random partners can result in sexually transmitted diseases (STD), HIV, unwanted pregnancies and other physical risks. Moreover, depression and intimacy problems can bear