A Female Biased Population: Implications for Public health

1. A Female Biased Population: Implications for Public health Courtney Kaczmarsky SB818 Spring 2012

2. Project Team • Courtney Kaczmarsky, MPH Candidate-Social and Behavioral Sciences Concentrator • Kathryn Power, MPH Candidate-Social and Behavioral Sciences Concentrator

3. Why are we interested in this topic?

4. The current situation • US Census Bureau: • In 2010, there were more than 20 million enrolled college students. Of this population approximately 45% were Male and 55% were Female. • CDC STI Surveillance: • STI increases in women are being seen across all regions of the US: • Women between the ages of 15-19 and 20-24 have the highest rates of both Chlamydia and Gonorrhea of any other age group. • Rates of Syphilis are the highest among women 20-24 and are increasing annually.

5. The Social Behavioral perspective • The balance or imbalance of the sex ratio in a population influences human decisions when it comes to sexual behavior. • When there is a female biased sex ratio “supply can be said to exceed demand.” • Women have less selective power and may compete for partners by indicating sexual obtainability.

6. The current research • Quantitative: • The prevalence of risky sexual behaviors. • The prevalence of STI’s and unplanned pregnancy. • Qualitative: • Types of risky behaviors, • How often people engage in risky behaviors, • Defining the participant’s language used to describe sexual encounters, and; • The emotional reaction after sexual encounters occur.

7. What’s Missing • Qualitative evaluation of: • What are the motivations behind engaging in risky sexual behaviors? • What environmental factors are influencing choices about sex on college campuses? • A general understanding of the relationship dynamic on college campuses. • Social Construction Theory: • Analyze the reality of a people in a setting, their beliefs, consequences of their behaviors, and the interactions that they have with others. • Better understand the environment in which sexual decisions are made.

8. Methods

9. Sampling • Trost’s sampling method is a statistically non-representative stratified sampling method. • Dependent variable: Single Female • Independent Variables: • Type of housing: ‘all female housing’ or ‘mixed gender housing’ • Level in college: ‘upper classman-senior or junior’ or ‘lower classman-freshman or sophomore’ • Ideal Sample, 4 women: • 2 upper-classmen, 1 of which live in all female housing and 1 that lived in mixed gender housing • 2lower-classmen, 1of which live in all female housing and 1that lived in mixed gender housing • Convenience Sampling: First 4 women that responded to email and face-to-face inquiries • Correction: 3 upper classmen, 3 lived in all female housing

10. Interviews • Developed a standardized open-ended interview. • Reviewed questions with group of graduate students and a professor. • Project team developed final list together. • Participants selected the meeting place. • Participants were emailed written description about the project or the description was shared verbally with them. • Participants were told: • They would remain anonymous, • They could leave at any time, and; • They did not have not answer any questions they did not feel comfortable answering. • Interviews were recorded and field notes taken during and after interviews.

11. Analysis • Transcribed interviews word for word. • Coding process, text becomes data. • Identified sensitizing concepts, or, concepts that would help with the presentation of the data and help make sense of the data: • Examine the meaning behind sexual behavior and relationships for participants from this particular population and this particular setting.

12. Findings Physical Intimacy Emotional Intimacy Unspoken Expectations

13. Physical Intimacy • Discussed primarily as ‘hooking up.’ • ‘Hooking up’ for participants was not necessarily sex, and happened more than once. • ‘Hooking up’ for peers might involve further intimate sexual contact. • Subthemes: • Perceived Female Control • Short Length of Time • Nighttime Event • Public Demonstration

14. perceived female control ‘… I think women are better at gauging what men want, in a way. If you’re going out you act a certain way, just like you make yourself noticed but its more about a short skirt, makeup or whatever the trend is.’

15. Contradiction It is perceived power to a point: ‘Girls know they can go home with someone at the end of the night but they don’t have to. They don’t feel that pressured. Its there if you want it but it’s not like I have to have [sex]. But, if you go home with someone then you might feel like you have to have sex with them.’

16. Short Length of Time ‘I know once since I’ve been at college, it could have been a relationship, I wanted it to be more. Other times it’s just for fun just I don’t know. Its starts off as just having fun but if it happens more than once than you start thinking maybe something, I don’t know.’

17. Nighttime event ‘…we would hang out—it started out at night, we would only see each other at night and like texting and things like that, texting, Facebook chatting, things like that (laughs). ‘

18. Public demonstration ‘And, usually being like the center of attention, laughing, being silly. Sometimes being overly silly, acting more drunk than they are. Just like being funny, touch [guys] arms, trying to get their attention. Being flirty.’ ‘… a lot of women dress provocatively and that’s obviously calling for men to have sex with them; I don’t think that’s necessarily the case, but I think because [a lot of] people assume that, then it creates pressure definitely.’

19. Emotional intimacy • An aspect of a relationship that is considered ‘long-term’ and reciprocal. • May occur during ‘hook-up’ but not necessarily reciprocal. • Subthemes: • Perceived Male Control • Long Length of Time • Daytime Events • Private Demonstration • Motivations

20. Perceived Male control ‘I would just say be careful because I think a lot of guys are not in it for the relationship part. [They] just kind of want to have fun with you. That’s what I would mostly say, like, most guys are just looking to have fun; they don’t want to settle down.’ ‘ If he shows interest in you at a party, don’t let that be the first thing. If he shows interest in you…you’ve seen him once and he’ll get your number if he’s interested.’

21. LongLength of Time ‘…and if they are in a relationship they’ve been in a relationship for a long time, like 4 years.’

22. Daytime event ‘I would say, like, hanging out during the week like going out places together. That’s pretty much it. Just you and that person pretty much doing everything together.’

23. Private Demonstration ‘There’s very few people who have a serious boyfriend, girlfriend relationship, and those relationships are usually long term. Like someone from home or who goes to a different school.’

24. motivations ‘I would rather be in a relationship, I think. It gets, like, lonely being single. Especially like this year there are more people in relationships than last year. Like last year, freshman year, everybody was going crazy and now people are, like, starting to settle down. Like a lot of our friends are in relationships.’

25. Unspoken expectations • Withholding personal expectations and desires from sexual partners, or potential partners. • Subthemes: • Participants not expressing their own desires: • Men looking for a ‘chill girl’ • Men have to make the effort first • When desires should be expressed: ‘Yes. We said it. It was just like, you know, ohh is it ok if I call you my boyfriend/girlfriend or something. It was like, it actually had to be said because otherwise you can’t assume it ‘cause it definitely won’t be an exclusive relationship. Then it’s just like hooking up’ • Male partner expectations: ‘Where as guys, I mean he could like you, but that doesn’t mean anything. A lot of times it doesn’t mean anything more than just wanting to hook up with a girl but the girl reads that as moving towards a relationship but a guy just sees that as just moving on to the next one.’

26. Putting it all together • Validated in the literature: • Participants brought up more women on campus, there are more women for men to choose from. • Unique findings: • Women see themselves as having power of attracting men but may or may not feel empowered to refuse sex if they go home with someone. • Women see men as having control over moving relationships from physical to emotional. • Want to seem ‘chill’ and ‘laid back’ and therefore not sharing that they are interested in a relationship

27. Unexpected Findings • Public nature of college lifestyle’s impact on relationships. • Private long-term, non-’hook-up’ type relationships are not conducive to campus life. • The women did not consider ‘hooking-up’ to be sexual intercourse. • ‘Hooking-Up’ was not considered risky sexual behavior by participants standards.

28. Strengths & Limitations • Strengths: • Credibility: Graduate Students with Professor oversight • Rigorous Methods: Detailed interview guide, coding guide • Triangulation: 2 project team members • Reflexivity: Considered personal experience • Female, Public Health • Reflection: Field notes after interviews • Limitations: • Social Construction: Did not corroborate findings with participants • Small sample & strategy • Would have benefited from additional triangulation methods • Limited perspective: Female heterosexual only

29. Recommendations • Additional Qualitative Research: • Male perspective • Explore further the contradiction in female perceived control • Explore in greater detail the phrase ‘hooking-up’ • Look at LGTBQ community perspective • Intervention: Use mixed methods to develop a Social Norms campaign on campus.