Academic study suggests physicians should be ‘proactive’ in discussing homosexual activity with teenagers
A recent study authored by several American professors implores doctors to be “proactive” when discussing gay sex with teenagers who have same-sex attractions, encouraging pediatricians to bring up homosexual activity with young patients.
The study, published in the medical journal AIDS and Behavior, is authored principally by Celia Fisher, a professor of psychology at Fordham University in New York City. Fisher is also the Marie Ward Doty Chair in Ethics at that school.
The study, which surveyed nearly 200 young gay males, “ask[ed] kids about their attitudes on getting sexual health care,” Fisher said, according to a press release from Fordham University. The study found that “adolescent males who have sex with males (AMSM) are at increased risk of contracting HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs).”
The study’s sample pool of respondents ranged from 14-17 years old. According to the study, over 50% of respondents “avoided communicating their sexual orientation and sexual health concerns to providers” for a variety of reasons, among them “a general belief that sexual minority youth do not receive equitable treatment in health care settings.”
The study emphasizes “the importance of medical training that meets the unique sexual health needs of” underage men who have sex with other males.
Young gay men “need advice specific to males having sex with males,” Fisher said, stating that “giving gay males advice on sex with females is useless.”
MORE: Preschool teachers cause children to be heterosexual, peer-reviewed paper suggests
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