Reproductive health programs for men.

PIP: The Groupe de Lutte Anti-SIDA (GLAS) (Group in Struggle Against AIDS) is an HIV prevention program in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, which taught HIV prevention to almost 20,000 mainly male workers aged 15-49 years. Before ending in 1996, GLAS offered one, hour-long session introducing HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and how to prevent them; instruction on how to use condoms; an open-ended discussion hour in which workers who had attended the first 2 sessions could ask questions about beliefs and rumors related to HIV/AIDS and STDs; and intensive psychological support groups using the transactional analysis (TA) educational approach to personal growth and change. The TA approach focuses upon teaching adults how to abandon self-defeating strategies, typically learned during childhood, and how to develop attitudes for managing life's problems. It promotes clear, direct communication. Participation in GLAS's program helped men understand the benefits of adopting HIV/STD risk reduction behavior.^ieng

Psychosexual characteristics of male university students in Brazil.

Male freshmen (N = 268) at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP) in the state of Sao Paulo in Brazil responded to a questionnaire concerning aspects of their sexuality from the onset of adolescence. Topics such as physical changes, first ejaculation, masturbation, homosexual manifestations, and sexual practices were investigated, as well as present attitudes toward virginity, intercourse, birth control, abortion, and prevention of AIDS. The quality of the relationship established with parents and the possibilities for dialogue about sex in the family circle were also surveyed. The majority of the subjects revealed satisfactory development in most areas of their sexuality, as well as a good relationship with their parents. Nevertheless, great difficulty was found in dialogue about sex within the family circle. Of these young men, 32% were still virgins at the end of their freshman year, but a considerable number of those already sexually active reported behavior which was inappropriate for the prevention of pregnancy and AIDS. The results are analyzed using psychoanalytic theories of psychosexual development.

PIP: A random sample of 268 male freshmen of mean age 19.6 years at the State University of Campinas in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, responded to a questionnaire in 1990 on aspects of their sexuality from the beginning of their adolescence. Topics such as physical changes, first ejaculation, masturbation, homosexual manifestations, and sexual practices were investigated, as well as present attitudes toward virginity, intercourse, birth control, abortion, and AIDS prevention. The quality of their relationships with parents was also surveyed. The sample comprised 31% of the entering students for that year. 32% were living with their parents. Most respondents reported satisfactory development in most areas of their sexuality, as well as a good relationship with their parents. However, they found it very difficult to discuss sex within their family circles. 32% were still virgins at the end of their freshman year. 28% and 20% had homosexual manifestations during childhood/early adolescence and currently, respectively, including fantasies, attraction to men/boys, physical contact with men/boys, and sexual intercourse with men/boys. 38% of the sexually active men reported taking no measures to prevent pregnancy and HIV transmission.