ArticleHealth education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education2010
In the dark: young men's stories of sexual initiation in the absence of relevant sexual health information.
Article in Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Improving the Sexual Health of Young People (under 25) in High-Risk Populations: A Systematic Review of Behavioural and Psychosocial Interventions.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Pooled it
- Sexual and Gender Minority Youth and Sexual Health Education: A Systematic Mapping Review of the Literature.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2021Pooled it
- Sexual Risk Behaviors in Adolescent Sexual Minority Males: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.The journal of primary prevention · 2018Pooled it
- The Inventory of Anal Sex Knowledge (iASK): A New Measure of Sexual Health Knowledge Among Adolescent Sexual Minority Males.The journal of sexual medicine · 2022Trial
- Trial
- Exposure to sexually explicit media in early adolescence is related to risky sexual behavior in emerging adulthood.PloS one · 2020Trial
- Least Equal When Most Teachable: The Biodevelopmental Learning Opportunities and Outcomes Model of Gender Differences in Sexuality.Personality and social psychology review : an official journal of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc · 2026Review
- Boy Bi! The Association Between HIV Knowledge, PrEP Stigma, Bisexual Contact, and Binegativity in a Sample of Undergraduate Students.Research square · 2026Article
- Experiences and Perceptions of Risk Among Australian Men Who Have Sex with Men Who Engage in Sexual Strangulation.Archives of sexual behavior · 2026Article
- Mechanisms of Action and Preliminary Impact of a Stigma-Mitigation Training to Enable Healthcare Discussions About Anal Pleasure and Health in China: A Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Pilot Study.AIDS and behavior · 2026Article
- Assessing Anorectal Sexual Function: Validity and Clinical Utility of a New Measure.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Online Pornography Consumption, Risky Behaviors, and Sexist Attitudes in Adolescence: A Cross-Sectional Survey Study.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Watching Porn, (Un)Doing Gender? Young People's Experiences and Understandings of Online Porn.Archives of sexual behavior · 2025Article
- Too Little Too Late: Perceptions of Sexual Health Education in Spain.International journal of sexual health : official journal of the World Association for Sexual Health · 2025Article
- Differences in the sexual health information parents/guardians give their adolescent sexual minority sons by outness.Journal of LGBT youth · 2024Article
- Association Between Age of Anal Sex Debut and Adult Health Behaviors Among Sexual Minoritized Men Living with HIV.Archives of sexual behavior · 2023Article
- Inclusive and Age-Appropriate Timing of Sexual Health Discussions at Home According to Gay, Bisexual, and Queer Adolescent Males.The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine · 2023Article
- First-time testers in the GetaKit study: conceptualizing new paths to care for gbMSM.Health promotion international · 2023Article
- "Whenever you're ready to talk about it": Prompts and barriers to inclusive family sex communication with gay, bisexual, and queer sons.American journal of sexuality education · 2023Article
- Psychometric Properties of a Scale on Judgmental Communication with Peers About Sex Among YMSM and Their Close Friends in Lebanon.AIDS and behavior · 2022Article
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
Abstract
A growing body of research has investigated the effectiveness of abstinence-only sexual education. There remains a dearth of research on the relevant sexual health information available to young men who have sex with men (YMSM). Drawing on a mixed-methods study with 526 YMSM, this study explores how and where YMSM receive relevant information on sexual health/behavior. Findings indicate that information related to gay men's sexuality is not readily available from family, friends, or schools. At initiation of anal intercourse, respondents generally had limited information about HIV and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). In some cases, this resulted in the perception that activities such as unprotected sex were "low risk." Many mentioned they first learned about anal sex during their sexual debut, describing painful and/or unpleasant experiences. Some relied on older/more experienced partners, the Internet, and pornography for information. Findings are discussed in relation to how providers can help YMSM build solid foundations of sexual education to protect them from STI and HIV infection.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.