Contemporary Sexuality - December 2008 - (Page 12)

Quick Hits: Sex in the News Study: Infidelity on the rise After analyzing 2006 data from the General Social Survey, a University of Washington researcher has found that among people over age 60, about 28 percent of men and 15 percent of women had an affair at some point during their lifetime. That’s a big jump from 15 years earlier. In 1991, just 21 percent of men and 5 percent of women admitted to being unfaithful to their wife or husband. David C. Atkins, PhD, an associate professor at the University of Washington, presented an academic paper on the topic at the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies Conference in November. Some researchers don’t believe there are gender differences in infidelity. “Is it that men are bragging about it and women are lying to everybody including themselves?” asks Helen Fisher, PhD, a professor of anthropology at Rutgers University. “Men want to think women don’t cheat and women want men to think they don’t cheat, and therefore the sexes have been playing a little psychological game with each other.” Others theorize that easy access to erectile dysfunction drugs are giving older couples more opportunities for non-marital sexual relationships, while the Internet is fueling cheating among the young. (New York Times, Oct. 28) Sheryl Kingsberg, head of behavioral medicine at MacDonald Women’s Hospital in Cleveland, wants doctors, nurses and others to take action. “This is a wake-up call to health care professionals … of the importance of sexual health and sexual quality of life,” she says. “This needs to be addressed.” (Washington Post and Medical News Today, Oct. 31 and Obstetrics & Gynecology abstract, November 2008) “Men want to think women don’t cheat and women want men to think they don’t cheat, and therefore the sexes have been playing a little psychological game with each other.” — Helen Fisher, PhD CDC says HPV vaccine is safe A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) study has found that Gardasil — the vaccine aimed at preventing the human papillomavirus — is safe. A two-year evaluation of the effects of the drug on 370,000 females found no major side effects. “The results are really reassuring,” says Paul Offit, MD, of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “There’s a public perception that the vaccine is not safe. This is important for countering negative information.” Some strains of HPV have been linked to increased rates of cervical cancer in women and mouth cancer in both genders. The CDC recommends vaccinations for girls beginning at age 11 or 12. The CDC does not recommend vaccinating boys against HPV. Harald zur Hausen, a scientist who won the 2008 Nobel Prize for Medicine for his 1970s discovery of a link between HPV and cervical cancer, says both boys and girls should be vaccinated, beginning as early as age 9. That’s because HPV can also cause mouth cancer. “I can understand some of the reservations, although I must say in my opinion this vaccine is as safe as many of the other vaccines presently being [distributed] to children,” says zur Hausen. “The protective effect for previously not-exposed women is close to 100 percent.” (Washington Post, Oct. 23 and Western News, The University of Western Ontario, Oct. 22) Listen to an interview with zur Hausen here: www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/ laureates/2008/hausen-interview.html Four in 10 women report sexual problems In a survey of 31,581 women in the United States, 43 percent reported having sexual problems related to desire, arousal and orgasm. About 12 percent of respondents were personally distressed about their sexual problem. “The good news is that 12 percent is a very different number than 40 percent,” says Jan Shifren, MD, lead author of the study, which was published in the November issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology. Shifren works at Massachusetts General Hospital and is an associate professor at Harvard Medical School. Women with a score of at least 15 on the Female Sexual Distress Scale were defined as “distressed.” Middle-aged women (aged 45-64) were more distressed (14.8 percent) than younger women (10.8 percent) or older women (8.9 percent). Those reporting distress were also more likely to have lower levels of education or “depression, anxiety, thyroid conditions and urinary incontinence.” 12 Contemporary Sexuality Britain to expand sex education in schools In an effort to combat teen pregnancy, Britain will roll out a new sexuality education effort in public schools in 2010. The personal, social and health education curriculum will teach 5-year- www.aasect.org | December 2008 Vol. 42, No. 12 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2008/hausen-interview.html http://www.aasect.org

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Contemporary Sexuality - December 2008 Contents Member Profile Book Reviews News of Members Quck Hits: Sex in the News Educational Opportunities

Contemporary Sexuality - December 2008

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