The present study provides a comparative analysis of sexual-minority and heterosexual emerging adult women's experiences seeking support for sexual issues from parents and friends. Participants included 229 college women (88 sexual-minority women; 141 heterosexual women), ranging from 18 to 25 years of age, who provided written responses to an…

The purpose of this article is to bring to the fore a topic that has received little mention in the college student literature: conducting psychotherapy with survivors of war and political trauma who seek treatment at college and university counseling centers. Following a discussion of political trauma in relation to typical developmental…

Theorists posit that personal decisions to disclose being HIV positive are made based on the perceived consequences of that disclosure. This study examines the perceived costs and benefits of self-disclosure among African American injection drug users (IDUs). A total of 80 African American IDUs were interviewed in-depth subsequent to testing HIV…

From April 2007 to June 2008, focus groups with 41 Washington, DC youth, ages 11 to 19, were conducted by Break the Cycle. One group consisted of eight self-identified sexual minority teens. Participants were asked questions exploring their opinions on the prevalence of dating violence among teens, dating violence dynamics, seeking or providing…

Exposure to violence is a serious public health concern that compromises adolescents by affecting their behavior and psychological well-being. The current study advances knowledge about the consequences of exposure to violence in adolescence by applying a life course perspective to evaluate the developmental implications of adolescents' exposure…

Potential pathways from childhood sexual abuse (CSA) to subsequent romantic intimacy problems were examined in a prospective longitudinal study of 160 ethnically diverse youth with confirmed CSA histories. Participants were interviewed at the time of abuse discovery, when they were 8-15 years of age, and again 1-6 years later. Stigmatization…

In the authors' experience, most instructors have dealt with a student "crisis" in some form. When a paper is late, an assignment incomplete, an exam missed, or a lecture skipped, students seeking special accommodations from instructors frequently share (often unsolicited) intimate details about their personal lives. College instructors…

Among male veterans and their female partners seeking therapy for relationship issues, three violence profiles were identified based on self-reports of physical violence: nonviolent, in which neither partner reported perpetrating physical violence (44%); one-sided violent, in which one partner reported perpetrating violence (30%); and mutually…

The authors explore the issue of consensual sexual relationships between counselor educators and students. The American Counseling Association's (2005) "ACA Code of Ethics" is consulted, and the complex issues associated with these relationships are discussed. A case example is provided that generates suggestions to guide counselor educators'…

The authors present a methodological review of empirical program evaluation research in the area of intimate partner violence prevention. The authors adapted and utilized criterion-based rating forms to standardize the evaluation of the methodological strengths and weaknesses of each study. The findings indicate that the limited amount of…

Mentoring has become an important part of teacher education, as an element in both the enhancement of reflective practice and the professional development of schools. Yet the concept remains confused. Problematic issues such as the elements of power and control, and the danger of dependence and intimacy are seldom heard when mentoring is…

African American women are at the center of the discussion on health disparities, specifically disparities regarding HIV/AIDS and Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs). Though there has been substantial research examining sexual risk behavior among low income African American women, little has been done to understand sexual behavior…

Adolescence is a time of growth, change, and confusion for young women. During this transition from childhood to adulthood, sex and gender roles become more important. Meanwhile, depictions of females--from the hyper-sexualized girls of music videos to the chaste repression of Purity Balls--send mixed messages to young women about their bodies…

Accurate assessment of attitudes about intimate partner violence is important for evaluation of prevention and early intervention programs. Assessment of attitudes about cross-gender interactions is particularly susceptible to bias because it requires specifying the gender of the perpetrator and the victim. As it is likely that respondents will…

Relationships are known to be vitally important for development, particularly in adolescence. Transcripts of semistructured interviews of 24 adolescent mothers who had experienced interpersonal violence (IPV) were analyzed to explore the effects of IPV on their important relationships. Mothers described feelings of loneliness and isolation; fears…