The Role of Technology on Sexual Behaviour of Young People - Research Proposal Example

Executive summary This report first gives a background on sexual health survey in the introduction part. The survey is noted to have first done in 1992 by the university of Queensland researchers after which the studies were undertaken after every 5 years but under ARCSHS researchers. The challenges that were faced at the initial stages of undertaking these surveys are clearly highlighted. They aim of this study was establishing the role plaid by technology in sexual behaviours of young people. The methodology section of report shows how the respondents were picked and the whole process of collecting information from the students. From the analysis it was established that technology plays a big role in terms of young people exchanging of sexual information. It was also clear that cyberbullying was not highly experienced by young people. Introduction In Australia sexual health survey has been carried out in every 5 years at a national level with the first one being in 1992. The research of 1992 was undertaken by University of Queensland researchers under the leadership of Beverly Raphael (Hillier, et al. ,2010). After the 1992 studies the subsequent studies were undertaken in 1997, 2002, 2008 and in 2013 all of them being undertaken by Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health and Society (ARCSHS) researchers at La Trobe University under the leadership of Anthony Smith. The studies were initiated due to the high concerns of young people being vulnerable to HIV infection and also there being a need of the authorities to have a clear picture regarding the behaviour and knowledge of young people aged from 16 to 18 years so as to come up with effective preventive measures ( Miller, et al., 1998). In the early studies there was restriction of the sample to government schools and it was only till 2002 when there was invitation of the independents schools as well as Catholic schools and in the subsequent studies all these schools have been involved (Cross, et al.,2009). There was a lot of reservation on the 1992 study where it was feared that there would be a negative impact if the young people were to respond to the questions and that chances were that truthful answers would not be given. The studies are believed to be the beginning of data that gave accurate picture with regards sexual attitudes, knowledge and experiences of the young people. Apart from the national studies which have been undertaken every five years by ARCSHS this topic has been of great interest and has prompted many other studies of smaller scale which include at school level. One such study is that undertaken by LTU on this topic of sexual heath with focus on secondary school students. The study received a lot of media attention particularly with regard technology use and cyber bullying. As a consequence of the high media attention there has been increased number of parents at school who have great concern about this issue. As a way of responding to this concerns the principal decided that there was need to have a study where there would be additional analysis of data concerning this issue. This was important as a way of ensuring that the school teachers had more information about this issue as this would make them to be well placed when it came to responding to the parents questions. The aim of the study is to establishing the role of technology on sexual behaviour of young people The specific objectives of the study are 1. To find out how technology is used by students as a tool of sexual experiences 2. To find out to what extent cyber bullying is exposed to the students. Methodology This study aimed to have as many as possible of the students of the school to participate. The students were made aware of the study by the principal. The other teachers were also used to inform the students about the study. The teachers who are involved with the students on social matters such as the guiding and counseling master were used in publicizing the event. This were regarded to be closer to the students and the students could be much at ease ask questions regarding the study. All the students were targeted for the study irrespective of their year of study. Convenient day for the student to fill the questionnaire was chosen. This was a day when the students are supposed to be much at ease. Friday afternoon was settled for as the best day for the student to fill the questionnaire. This was a day when it was believed that the student were more relaxed there was little pressure on them regarding studying for an exam since the students were breaking for the weekend just after filling in the questionnaire. As much as the atmosphere of ease was important care was taken to ensure there was little hype about this event so as to avoid the students influencing each other on the response they were to give in the questionnaire. In administering of the questionnaire it was ensured that the students had enough space for themselves. This meant that apart from their respective classes the students used other areas in filling the questionnaire. This meant that there was much more space for the students than what the students normally have in a normal class. The questionnaire was administered to the students by some staff members who were willing to be involved and some of the non staff members. The students were required to fill the questionnaire in pencil under exam conditions. Conversing was not allowed when the students were filling the questionnaire and this was reinforced by the students having enough space for themselves. The students were informed through writing on the questionnaire that they were free to withdraw from the study even after starting to fill the questionnaire. The students were also informed that it was not required of them to give their identity on the questionnaire. The students were to put the filled questionnaire in a plain envelop which had been provided for each of them. All the student were required to wait till the 20minutes allocated for filling the questionnaire elapsed so as to avoid disturbing their counterparts who were still filling the questionnaires. The students were assured that the information given in the questionnaire was confidential. The sampling results are as shown in table 1 Year of study Male (%) Male (n) Female (%) Female(n) Total 10 41.2 70 58.8 100 170 11 41.7 75 58.3 105 180 12 42.5 85 57.5 115 200 Total 39 230 61 320 590 Sexual experiences using new technologies The result of using new technologies for sexual experiences is as summarized in table 2. From the table it can be seen that over 70% of the male and female indicated that they had sent a sexually explicit written text message. In terms of the respondents being recipients of sexually explicit written messages it can be seen that 82. 2 percent of male and 84.4% of female admitted to being recipients of such texts. From the table it can be seen that with regards to sending a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of oneself the percentage was 47.8 and 50 for male and female respectively. For the case of sending of such photos but for some else the yes response was lower at 24.8 and 15 for male and female respectively. Table 2 Male% Male (n) Female% Female(n) Sent a sexually explicit written text message YES 73.0 168 71.9 230 NO 17.8 41 24.1 77 Don’t know 9.1 21 4.1 13 Received a sexually explicit written text message YES 82.2 189 84.4 270 NO 10.9 25 10.0 32 Don’t know 7.0 16 5.0 16 Sent a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of yourself YES 47.8 110 50.0 160 NO 45.7 105 46.9 150 Don’t know 6.1 14 3.1 10 Sent a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of someone else YES 24.8 57 15.0 48 NO 70.0 161 81.9 262 Don’t know 5.2 12 3.1 10 Received a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of someone else YES 74.8 172 70.0 224 NO 22.2 51 28.1 90 Don’t know 3.0 7 1.9 6 Figure 1 shows a screen shot of the result of a t-test between the scores in male versus female with regards to sexual experiences. From the figure it can be seen that the difference in frequency scores in male and female were not statistically different t(30)= -0.655 (p=0.5172). from the figure we also see that equal variance is assumed F(15,15)=1.946 (p=0.2088). Figure 1 Cyber bullying When the students were asked to give the number of times they were exposed to behavioural situations that could pass as potential bullying which may pass as constituting what is referred to as cyberbullying the result were as shown in table 3. A general assessment of the table indicates that incidences of bullying were relatively low. From the table it can be seen those who indicated they received a prank message at least once or twice a week was 6.5% for male and 5.3 for female this making it the most common form of bullying recorded. From the table it is clear that majority of the respondents indicated that they had not been subjected to any cyberbullying in the last several months. Table 3 Male % Male(n) Female(%) Female(n) I was sent threatening emails Did not happen 92.2 212 92.8 297 Once or twice 4.3 10 4.1 13 Every few weeks 0.9 2 0.6 2 Once a week or more 2.6 6 2.5 8 Mean or nasty messages or pictures were sent or posted about me to websites, e.g. Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr Did not happen 82.6 190 81.6 261 Once or twice 10.9 25 12.2 39 Every few weeks 2.2 5 2.2 7 Once a week or more 4.3 10 4.1 13 Mean or nasty messages or pictures were sent about me to other students’ mobile phones Did not happen 87.0 200 86.9 278 Once or twice 7.8 18 8.1 26 Every few weeks 2.2 5 2.2 7 Once a week or more 3.0 7 2.8 9 I received prank calls on my mobile phone Did not happen 67.0 154 68.1 218 Once or twice 21.3 49 21.9 70 Every few weeks 5.2 12 4.7 15 Once a week or more 6.5 15 5.3 17 Figure 2 shows a screen shot of the result of a t-test between the scores in male versus female with regards to cyberbullying of different forms. From the figure it can be seen the difference in frequency scores in male and female were not statistically different t(28)= -0.92 (p=0.365). From the figure we also see that equal variance is assumed F(14,14)=2.47 (p=0.1019). Figure 2 Discussion Even though there was a great concern with regards to sexual well being of young people more so with regards to interaction with technologies it can be seen that majority of the young people appear to be confident in making decision with regards to their sexual health this being in agreement with (Drouinet al. , 2012). From the response given it is clear that there is increased utilization of the internet as a source of sex information. This is to be seen as more of a strength that can bring about enhancement of the development skills resulting to improvement in critical enquiry, thus giving the young people access to information that may pass as reliable and confidential in areas where asking questions maybe a great challenge to them (Miller et al., 1998). The utilization of the social media is considered to be something that is universal and it plays a substantial role with regards to negotiation and development of sexual relationships (Sprecher, 1996). This includes sending of explicit messages and images something that is common and is highly associated with those in relationships. It is the believe of the research that policies and programs designed with the aim of improving sexual health of the young people should not work against this trend but rather should work to at ensuring that there is minimal damage and that they need to help in developing an ethical framework that will guide young people in this territory. At best this situation is giving an opportunity of getting messages out to majority of the young people in ways that could have not been imagined a few decades ago. References Cross, D., Shaw, T., Hearn, L., Epstein, M., Monks, H., Lester, L., & Thomas, L. (2009). Australian Covert BullyingPrevalence Study (ACBPS). Child Health Promotion Research Centre, Edith Cowan University, Perth. Drouin, M., and Landgraff, C. (2012). Texting, sexting, and attachment in college students’ romantic relationships.Computers in Human Behavior. 28, 444-449. Herold, E. S., & Goodwin, M. S. (1981). Adamant virgins, potential nonvirgins and nonvirgins. Journal of Sex Research,17(2), 97-113. Hillier, L., Jones, T., Monagle, M., Overton, N., Gahan, L., Blackman, J. & Mitchell, A. (2010) Writing Themselves In 3:The third national study on the sexual health and wellbeing of same sex attracted and gender questioning young people. Australian Research Centre In Sex, Health & Society Monograph Series No. 78. Melbourne. Miller, B. C., Norton, M. C., Fan, X., & Christopherson, C. R. (1998). Pubertal development, parental communication,and sexual values in relation to adolescent sexual behaviors. The Journal of Early Adolescence, 18(1), 27-52. Sprecher, S., & Regan, P. C. (1996). College virgins: How men and women perceive their sexual status. Journal of Sex Research, 33(1), 3-15. Questionnaire Questions regarding Sexual experiences using new technologies Have you received a sexually explicit written text message YES NO DON’T NO Have you ever sent a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of yourself YES NO DON’T NO Have you sent a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of someone else YES NO DON’T NO Have you received a sexually explicit nude or nearly nude photo or video of someone else YES NO DON’T NO Questions about Cyber bullying Have you been sent threatening email Did not happen Once or twice Every few weeks Once a week or more Have mean or nasty messages or pictures been sent or posted about you to websites, e.g. Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr Did not happen Once or twice Every few weeks Once a week or more Have mean or nasty messages or pictures been sent you to other students’ mobile phones Did not happen Once or twice Every few weeks Once a week or more I received prank calls on my mobile phone Did not happen Once or twice Every few weeks Once a week or more Simplified report This report first gives a background on sexual health survey in the introduction part. The survey is noted to have first done in 1992 by the university of Queensland researchers after which the studies were undertaken after every 5 years but under ARCSHS researchers. The challenges that were faced at the initial stages of undertaking these surveys are clearly highlighted. They aim of this study was establishing the role plaid by technology in sexual behaviours of young people. From the study it is reasoned that even though there was a great concern with regards to sexual well being of young people more so with regards to interaction with technologies it can be seen that majority of the young people appear to be confident in making decision with regards to their sexual health. From the response given was clear that there is increased utilization of the internet as a source of sex information. This is to be seen as more of a strength that can bring about enhancement of the development skills resulting to improvement in critical enquiry, thus giving the young people access to information that may pass as reliable and confidential in areas where asking questions maybe a great challenge to them. The utilization of the social media is considered to be something that is universal and it plays a substantial role with regards to negotiation and development of sexual relationships. This includes sending of explicit messages and images something that is common and is highly associated with those in relationships. It is the believe of the research that policies and programs designed with the aim of improving sexual health of the young people should not work against this trend but rather should work to at ensuring that there is minimal damage and that they need to help in developing an ethical framework that will guide young people in this territory. At best this situation is giving an opportunity of getting messages out to majority of the young people in ways that could have not been imagined a few decades ago. Read More