Assessing the intention to use sexually explicit material during sexual education interventions among health professionals

Details

Supervisors

Van den Broucke, Stephan

Faculty

Faculté de psychologie, logopédie, sexologie et des sciences de la famille

Degree label

Master [120] en sciences de la famille et de la sexualité

Abstract

The influence of sexually explicit material on children and young adults has been the topic of a range of studies during the last decades. However, the results of these studies are sometimes contradictory, some studies proving negative outcomes for the youth that others can’t confirm. As the adolescents will encounter sexually explicit material at some point for sure, several professionals suggest that it should be used as an educational tool. By showing material that is especially designed for education, it would be possible to satisfy their curiosity, actually answer their questions and to teach about sexuality, by opening discussion and showing body diversity. To get a better understanding of the attitude towards sexually explicit material and the actual use among health professionals an online survey was conducted. The questionnaire was inspired by the Theory of Planned Behaviour. A sample of 52 health professionals completed the survey. A multiple linear regression showed that descriptive norms and absolute obstacles could predict the intention to use sexually explicit material. A significant difference was found for the intention to use sexually explicit material, the perception of advantages, the perception of disadvantages, the descriptive norms and the absolute obstacles for the educational setting. Apart from the perceived advantages, the same results were found for those who had seen and discussed sexually explicit material during their courses and those who hadn’t. Further research should investigate the use of sexually explicit material in a more varied sample.