Aspects of Human Sexuality

Aspects of Human Sexuality
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Aspects of Human SexualityConducting human sexuality research is a critical step especially when it applies to the youth. Sex plays an essential universal role in the social and personal lives of individuals. In my perspective, the scientific research on sex is crucial for reproductive health and the psychological well-being of humans. Most people in the society tend to feel ashamed about their sexual capacities, and this contributes to most researchers assuming the topic. Research on sexuality helps to eliminate the level of ignorance depicted in the society concerning the subject. Therefore, conducting human sexuality research is essential for practical and theoretical awareness.
The method used to collect the YRBSS data provided on the website is that of the questionnaire. This research instrument comprises of a set of questions, which help to obtain information from respondents. By adopting this method, the YRBSS self-administers its questionnaires amongst students or other potential participants (CDC 2017). When gathering such confidential and sensitive data, it is vital for researchers to observe various ethical considerations. For example, the investigators should ensure there is confidentiality and privacy of the information presented. It is also paramount to ensure that researchers maintain informed consent whereby the respondents take part in the questionnaire willingly without any form of coercion. In my opinion, the YRBSS researchers conducted proper ethical considerations, for example, to maintain student privacy, they allowed anonymous and voluntary participation.

Second, the questionnaire was self-administered, and this helped to ensure that students gave their responses privately (CDC 2017). The investigators also encouraged students to cover their answers, which minimized the chances of them seeing each other’s replies.
The results of the 2015 YRBSS research showed that there was a decrease of 8% in the number of high-school and middle-school students who were sexually active. However, amongst the students who were sexually active, there as a decline in the use of condoms from 63% in 2003 to 57 percent in 2015 (CDC 2017). From these results, it is apparent that engaging in unprotected sex has been one of the main causes of HIV and STDs infection. Despite the reduction in sexual activities, the lack of using protection raises the risk of infection and unwanted pregnancies. I believe that the results obtained are an actual representation of sexual behavior amongst high-school and middle-school students. The reason is that the survey was conducted amongst many students from various regions. The results proved that the youth need to minimize their involvement in risky sexual behaviors.
Overall, this data on human sexuality is quite useful for my future focus on sexual behaviors among youths. As an aspiring research analyst, I plan to use this information to evaluate whether there is an improvement in the level of risky sexual behaviors among youths. Since the data mainly focuses on students, it will be easier to study the youth as the target group. The information is also from a credible source, which makes it reliable and a key source of information. In addition, this data will assist me in educating the youths about irresponsible sexual behavior. For example, I will be in a position to advise the sexually active youths to use protection to avoid sexually transmitted infections and early pregnancy. The data is also useful since it depicts the status of youths in the society in regards to their sexual behavior. Therefore, this data will add to my theoretical knowledge on human sexuality research.

Reference
CDC (2017). Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) Overview. [Online]. Available at https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/overview.htm. (Accessed January 27, 2018)