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Unwanted Sexual Experiences in Young Men: Evidence from a Survey of University Students in Chile

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Abstract

The public health problem of unwanted sexual experiences (USE) in male youths has received little attention. In this study, we examined prevalence of USE, risk factors, contexts, and barriers to disclosure with data from a quantitative survey of students enrolled in General Education courses at a public university in Chile. This study focused on the male sample (N = 466). Approximately 20.4 % of participants reported some form of USE since age 14. Forced sex through physical coercion, forced sex through verbal coercion or while intoxicated, attempted forced sex, and less severe forms of USE were reported by 0.2, 10.1, 1.4, and 8.7 % of participants, respectively. USE before age 14 was reported by 9.4 % of participants and was a significant predictor of USE since age 14 (AOR 6.38, 95 % CI 3.22–12.65, p < .01). The perpetrator of USE since age 14 was most commonly identified as a date/partner or friend/acquaintance; other findings on contexts and barriers to disclosure were also generally consistent with previous results in the literature. In addition, we found substantial co-occurrence of USE since age 14 with two other forms of coercion: physical dating violence victimization and coerced condom non-use. The study findings indicate a need for further attention to these public health problems and have implications for the development of violence and HIV/STI prevention programs for adolescent boys and young adult men in Chile and elsewhere.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by Award Number T32MH019105 from the National Institute of Mental Health. The content of this article is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute of Mental Health or the National Institutes of Health. Shari Dworkin, Ph.D., Michael Scarce, M.A., and Janet Turan, Ph.D., provided valuable comments on an earlier draft. We are also indebted to the Editor and three anonymous referees for helpful suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bixby Center for Global Reproductive Health, University of California-San Francisco, 4601 25th St., #7, San Francisco, CA, 94114, USA

    Jocelyn A. Lehrer

  2. Department of Economics, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

    Evelyn L. Lehrer

  3. Mel and Enid Zuckerman Arizona College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, USA

    Mary P. Koss

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  1. Jocelyn A. Lehrer
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  2. Evelyn L. Lehrer
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Correspondence to Jocelyn A. Lehrer.

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Lehrer, J.A., Lehrer, E.L. & Koss, M.P. Unwanted Sexual Experiences in Young Men: Evidence from a Survey of University Students in Chile. Arch Sex Behav 42, 213–223 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0004-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-0004-x

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