The link of sexual sensation seeking to acceptance of cybersex, multiple sexual partners, and one-night stands among Taiwanese college students.

BACKGROUND: Young people in Taiwan have become more liberal and active toward sex. Despite heavy investments of money, time, and effort, sexual education programs have generally lagged expectations. PURPOSE: Personality traits such as sexual sensation seeking are found to be significantly associated with risky sexual behaviors. This study, therefore, attempts to explore the link of sexual sensation seeking to acceptance by Taiwanese college students of cybersex, multiple sexual partners, and one-night stands. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted using the multistage cluster sampling method. Five hundred sixteen students recruited from eight universities/colleges in Taiwan participated in this study, and 507 completed the self-report questionnaire. The valid response rate was 98.26%. RESULTS: The results reveal that high-sexual-sensation seekers were more likely than low-sexual-sensation seekers to accept cybersex, multiple sexual partners, and one-night stands. CONCLUSIONS/IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study suggests that the designers of campus-based health prevention campaigns should target campaign messages on high-sexual-sensation seekers using novel, thrilling, and complex messages to achieve safe sex educational campaign goals.

Testing a model of the predictors and consequences of body dissatisfaction.

A cross-sectional study, testing a model of predictors and consequences of body dissatisfaction, was undertaken in Taiwan from December 30, 2006 to January 10, 2007. Two hundred and thirty-two female college students enrolled at a major university completed the self-administered questionnaire. Analytical results revealed that body dissatisfaction among respondents increased with BMI (beta=.32, p<.001), perceptions of how others viewed their bodies (beta=.38, p<.001), and upward social comparisons (beta=.17, p<.01). Body dissatisfaction also markedly influenced respondent weight-loss intentions (beta=.51, p<.001). Results imply that medical, psychological and social factors must be considered by school health educators wishing to understand the causes and consequences of body dissatisfaction among female college students.

Optimistic bias, information seeking and intention to undergo prostate cancer screening: A Taiwan study on male adults.

BACKGROUND: This study explores optimistic bias and information seeking in prostate cancer patients and how they impact intention to undergo prostate cancer screening. METHODS: A national sample of 427 Taiwanese male adults aged at least 45 years (mean (M) = 57) were recruited to complete a telephone-based survey questionnaire between April 30 and May 8, 2008. RESULTS: The questionnaire results showed that respondents considered themselves less likely than others to get prostate cancer. The relationship between optimistic bias and intention to undergo prostate cancer screening was non-significant, while information seeking positively and significantly predicted such an intention. CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this study imply that health educators should include risk-awareness strategies and information seeking interventions in the design of cancer prevention programs.