Busting MisconSEXions: evaluation of a social media knowledge translation initiative addressing myths about sex.

There is a critical gap in sex education such that many people lack access to evidence-based and accessible information about sexuality, putting them at risk for endorsing myths about sex and in turn having poorer sexual wellbeing. To address this gap, we developed a novel social media knowledge translation initiative-MisconSEXions-to debunk common myths about sexuality. The goal of this study was twofold. First, to examine whether exposure to MisconSEXions is effective for reducing sexuality myth endorsement. Second, to evaluate the acceptability (participants' satisfaction with the content), appropriateness (the perceived fit of the content with participants), adoption (participants' intention to engage with the initiative), and penetration (participants' perception of the content's impact on their lives) of MisconSEXions among study participants. We also examined possible group differences in our observed effects by assigned sex, gender modality, and sexual orientation. A large and diverse sample (N = 2,356) of adults completed an online survey and reported on their demographics, sexuality myth endorsement before and after exposure to MisconSEXions content, and the acceptability, appropriateness, adoption, and penetration of the MisconSEXions content. We found that participants' sexuality myth endorsement was significantly lower following exposure to MisconSEXions content, and this effect held across assigned sex, gender modality, and sexual orientation groups. Regardless of participants' assigned sex, gender modality, or sexual orientation, MisconSEXions content was reported to be both acceptable and appropriate to people's lives. Participants reported relatively low levels of adoption, such that they reported reluctance to engage with the content on social media. Additionally, participants reported mixed feelings regarding the impact of the content on their lives (i.e., penetration). Overall, the findings have implications for how sexuality social media knowledge translation initiatives can fill important gaps in providing inclusive and accessible sex education.

Correction: Development of Therapeutic Alliance and Social Presence in a Digital Intervention for Pediatric Concussion: Qualitative Exploratory Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.2196/49133.].

Development of Therapeutic Alliance and Social Presence in a Digital Intervention for Pediatric Concussion: Qualitative Exploratory Study.

BACKGROUND: Despite the promising benefits of self-guided digital interventions for adolescents recovering from concussion, attrition rates for such interventions are high. Evidence suggests that adults can develop therapeutic alliance with self-guided digital interventions, which is in turn associated with intervention engagement. However, no research has examined whether adolescents develop therapeutic alliance with self-guided digital interventions and what factors are important to its development. Additionally, social presence-the extent to which digital encounters feel like they are occurring in person-may be another relevant factor to understanding the nature of the connection between adolescents and a self-guided digital intervention, though this has yet to be explored. OBJECTIVE: This qualitative study explored the extent to which adolescents recovering from concussion developed therapeutic alliance and social presence during their use of a self-guided digital mindfulness-based intervention. Additionally, this study aimed to determine factors important to adolescents' development of therapeutic alliance and social presence with the intervention. METHODS: Adolescents aged between 12 and 17.99 years who sustained a concussion were recruited from 2 sites: a pediatric emergency department up to 48 hours after a concussion and a tertiary care clinic over 1 month following a concussion to capture adolescents who had both acute and persisting symptoms after concussion. Participants (N=10) completed a 4-week mindfulness-based intervention delivered through a smartphone app. Within the app, participants listened to audio recordings of mindfulness guides (voice actors) narrating psychoeducation and mindfulness practices. At 4 weeks, participants completed questionnaires and a semistructured interview exploring their experience of therapeutic alliance and social presence with the mindfulness guides in the intervention. RESULTS: Themes identified within the qualitative results revealed that participants developed therapeutic alliance and social presence by "developing a genuine connection" with their mindfulness guides and "sensing real people." Particularly important to the development of therapeutic alliance and social presence were the mindfulness guides' "personal backgrounds and voices," such that participants felt more connected to the guides by knowing information about them and through the guides' calm tone of voice in audio recordings. Quantitative findings supported qualitative results; participants' average score for therapeutic alliance was far above the scale midpoint, while the mixed results for social presence measures aligned with qualitative findings that participants felt that the mindfulness guides seemed real but not quite as real as an in-person connection would. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that adolescents can develop therapeutic alliance and social presence when using digital interventions with no direct human contact. Adolescents' development of therapeutic alliance and social presence with self-guided digital interventions can be bolstered by increasing human-like qualities (eg, real voices) within interventions. Maximizing therapeutic alliance and social presence may be a promising way to reduce attrition in self-guided digital interventions while providing accessible treatment.

Associations between Genital Self-Image and Individuals' Own and Perceived Partner Sexual Satisfaction.

Negative genital self-image is linked with lower sexual satisfaction, but no research has examined its association with perceptions of partners' sexual satisfaction. In two studies (N = 475, N = 234), we examined links between genital self-image and own and individuals' perceived partner sexual satisfaction. In the second study, we tested whether a mindfulness intervention moderated these associations. In both studies, more negative genital self-image was significantly associated with individuals' lower own and perceived partner sexual satisfaction concurrently and over a two-week period. Mindfulness intervention exposure did not moderate associations. Findings support negative genital self-image as a risk factor for sexual dissatisfaction.

Gynephilic Men's and Androphilic Women's Visual Attention Patterns: The Effects of Gender and Sexual Activity Cues.

Men and women differ in the degree of specificity of sexual response and differences in attention to sexual cues may be a mechanism underlying these gendered patterns. The majority of previous research has examined attention using static images, which differ considerably from the dynamic videos used in studies of sexual response. To test attention as a potential mechanism involved in gendered sexual response, we used eye-tracking to examine visual attention patterns of 33 gynephilic men and 36 androphilic women to videos depicting preferred and nonpreferred gender targets engaging in varying sexual activities. Specificity of controlled attention was gendered, and this effect differed depending on the intensity of sexual activity cues depicted. Regardless of sexual activity cues, men's controlled attention was gender-specific toward preferred targets. Sexual activity cues did, however, impact the degree to which women's controlled attention was gender-specific. Specifically, women's attention was gender-specific to low-intensity stimuli but nonspecific for masturbation and same-sex dyadic stimuli. Women's attention was gender-specific for mixed-sex dyadic stimuli, but with greater attention directed toward nonpreferred gender targets. Overall, contextual cues impact women's attention to a greater degree than men's. Potential explanations for these findings and implications of stimulus selection for sexuality research are discussed.