Marcel Elipe-Miravet

Despite the importance of school-based sexual health education (SHE) for enhancing sexual health outcomes, little is known about the SHE youth receive in Spain. The goal of this research was to shed light on the experience of SHE of Spanish adults. Participants were 524 Spaniards (73% women, 27% men) between 18 to 70 years of age (M = 35.29, SD = 11.68) who completed an on-line survey. This survey collected information on whether and during which courses they had received SHE in high school. In addition, participants indicated the extent to which each of 10 important sexual health topics had been covered in their school-based SHE. On average, participants indicated that these 10 important SHE topics were covered between not at all and poorly. Biological topics were most likely to be covered at least to a small extent. Participants who received SHE on average received it in two different grades, most often around 14-16 years old. These participants, on average, rated the quality of the SHE as poor. There were no differences in perceptions of the extent or quality of SHE based on age-group or sexual orientation. However, women reported receiving significantly less SHE than did men; there were no gender differences in perceptions of the quality of SHE. Participants who had received SHE in more grades reported more extensive and higher quality SHE. Results reflect that SHE in high schools in Spain is still very limited, which could be related to poorer sexual health. To improve sexual health, it would be necessary to enhance the SHE provided in Spanish schools.

Introduction: The Arizona Sexual Experiences Scale (ASEX) is a brief questionnaire that evaluates five major aspects of sexual function: sex drive, arousal, erectile function/vaginal lubrication, ability to reach orgasm, and satisfaction with orgasm. An advantage of the ASEX is its simplicity and brevity (five items), making it suitable for the screening of sexual function problems in healthcare contexts and large-scale studies. The main objective of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the ASEX in a multi-national sample, as well as to explore sexual function according to countries, genders, and sexual orientations. Methods: The psychometric examination of the ASEX was conducted with a sample of 82,243 participants (women = 57.02%; men = 39.59%; gender-diverse = 3.38%; M _age = 32.39 years; SD = 12.52) from 42 different countries speaking 26 languages. Results: The CFA supported a one-factor solution. Multigroup CFAs supported configural, metric, partial scalar, and residual invariance across countries, languages, genders, and sexual orientations. Furthermore, the ASEX showed good internal consistency (ω = .85) and convergent validity (e.g., significant negative associations with masturbation and sexual intercourse frequency). Finally, individuals in Eastern countries, women, and asexual participants reported higher levels of sexual function issues. Conclusions and Policy Implications: The findings supported the use of the ASEX as a tool to screen for sexual function problems across diverse populations in multi-cultural settings. This scale may be used to improve our knowledge on the cross-cultural differences on the expression of sexual function, serving as the basis for the development of culturally tailored interventions for the improvement of this basic aspect of well-being.

Sexual consent is essential for preventing sexual assault. Research on sexual consent in Spain is hampered by the lack of an appropriate measure. The aim of this study was to translate and assess the psychometric properties of the Sexual Consent Scale–Revised using a sample of 557 Spanish individuals between 18 and 60 years old. An exploratory factor analysis followed by a confirmatory factor analysis supported the Spanish SCS-R factorial structure. Reliability analyses and invariance testing demonstrated its good psychometric properties and invariance with respect to age and gender. The Spanish SCS-R is a useful tool to evaluate sexual consent among young men and women as well as men and women older than 30 years of age.

Introduction: The lockdown, as a measure to stop the spread of COVID-19, has had an impact on different areas of our life, including sexuality. This study aims to analyze its impact on online sexual activities (OSAs) in people who lived in Spain during confinement. Methods: This study involved 1448 people aged 18–60 years who were assessed through an online survey during confinement in Spain (April, 2020). The design of this study was a cross-sectional design, in which information on OSA before confinement and OSA, physical and social environment, and other variables related to gender and negative mood during confinement were collected at a single point in time. Results: Our results show that both men and women, regardless of their sexual orientation, have experienced an increase in time and frequency invested in OSAs. In addition, individuals have also innovated their OSAs, for example, contacting sex workers. Factors such as high sexual desire, being a man, and consuming pornography were positively related to the frequency of ASOs during confinement, while high sexual desire and sexting were related to the time spent on ASOs during confinement. Conclusions: The COVID-19 lockdown has had an impact on online sexuality. Both men and women have experienced an increase in their online sexual activity during confinement. In addition, some factors related to the increase in the time and frequency of OSAs are identified. Policy Implications: Identifying how these changes have been during this very restrictive period and what factors related to the increase in OSAs can help us prevent possible consequences in similar scenarios.

Introduction: Unwanted exposure (UE) to sexual content may have important consequences on children/adolescents’ psychosexual development. Our objective was to analyze UE to online pornography, parental filter use, type of sexual contents seen, emotional/behavioral reactions, and UE as positive/traumatic experience in Spanish adolescents and to examine these experiences and reactions depending on the type of sexual content. Methods: In 2020, 500 Spanish teenagers (13–18 years) completed an ad hoc questionnaire for the evaluation of different dimensions involved in UE to sexual contents, such as those mentioned in the study objectives. Results: A high frequency of UE (88.2%) is observed. Regarding the kind of scenes, naked people, straight porn, and people showing genitals are the most unexpectedly seen. Adolescents used to react to the UE closing the window and deleting sexual materials. A greater predominance of negative emotions was revealed, and another noteworthy result is related to the role played by type of sexual content and gender. Gay scenes and being woman increased the probability of living the experience as non-positive, and being woman and viewing naked people/BDSM scenes/under-age sex were associated with reactions of rejection. Conclusions: This study contributes significantly to the knowledge of UE to online pornography in adolescents. It provides valuable information about the role played by the type of sexual content seen and the gender in the diverse reactions/experiences derived from the UE to pornography. Policy Implications: This topic, that is, involuntary exposure to online sexual material in adolescents, should be included in affective-sexual education and prevention programs at early ages, so that children/adolescents are already trained in healthy sexuality when facing this type of content for the first time. These programs, adjusted to the reality of our adolescents, will minimize the negative impact that UE may have on their psychosexual development.

Background: : The pandemic affected the psychological well-being and sexuality of the population, especially among vulnerable groups such as men from sexual minorities. Method: : In Spain, a total of 320 heterosexual men and 151 sexual minority men, aged between 18 and 60, answered an ad hoc online questionnaire about sexual behavior during the lockdown. Results: : Compared to heterosexual men, during the lockdown, sexual minority men masturbated more, engaged in more sexual activities online, and had more sex with non-cohabitants. Heterosexual men had more sexual relations with their partners. Living with a partner during the lockdown predicted an improvement in sex life, especially for heterosexual men. Furthermore, the emotional impact of lockdown was a predictor of a worsening sex life regardless of sexual orientation. Conclusions: : Future interventions should take into account that men’s sex lives are mediated by the emotional impact of the moment, especially among sexual minority men, since the quality of their sex life shows a weaker relationship with some of the protective variables studied (living with a partner).

The Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS) has been translated, adapted and validated in general Spanish population, making its application difficult in certain groups, such as men who have sex with men (MSM). This paper evaluates the psychometric properties of the SCS in a sample of MSM in Spain. The SCS was administered to 881 participants. The factorial structure of the SCS was examined with an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Both EFA and CFA confirmed a two-factor structure: (1) Interference of sexual behavior, and (2) Failure to control sexual impulses. Internal consistency was really good for the scale and also for both factors. The SCS also presented adequate psychometric properties. Thus, it is an appropriate measure for assessing sexual compulsivity in MSM, and a tool to be taken into account in future researches to reduce sexual risk behaviors in the MSM Spanish population.