Serge Desmarais

Hey Mom, What’s on Your Facebook? Comparing Facebook Disclosure and Privacy in Adolescents and Adults:

People of all ages are increasingly exposed to online environments that encourage them to share and connect with others. However, there is a perception that adolescents are particularly susceptible to these cues and share more online than do other age groups. With a group of 288 adolescents and 285 adults, we explored differences and similarities in use of Facebook for information sharing and use of the controls to protect their privacy. Adolescents reported disclosing more information on Facebook and using the privacy settings less than adults. Despite these differences, the results indicated that adolescents and adults were more similar than different in the factors that predicted information disclosure and control. Adolescents spent more time on Facebook, which partially mediated the relationship between group (adolescents vs. adults) and disclosure. Self-esteem partially mediated the relationship between group and information control, with adults having higher self-esteem than adolescents.

Predicting Coercive Sexual Behavior Across the Lifespan in a Random Sample of Canadian Men

In order to end or at least reduce the amount of sexual violence in our society, it is necessary to identify the factors that play a part in mens sexual aggression against women they know. One hundred and ninety-five men ranging in age from 19 to 82 were randomly sampled from enumeration records of a small Canadian city and completed questionnaires. Overall, 73 percent of men reported never having been sexually coercive. Logistic regression analysis, using a dichotomous coercion criterion, established that childhood abuse, adolescent promiscuity, and restrictive emotionality all increased the likelihood of sexual coercion. Early sexual socialization and aspects of the male role related to emotional expressivity appear to be important in the development of coercive behavior. As such, prevention programs must be aimed at earlier interventions in families, communities, and schools.

Risky Disclosures on Facebook The Effect of Having a Bad Experience on Online Behavior

Social network websites are widely used by adolescents, but disclosing in this environment has inherent risks, as does connecting with others online. In a sample of 256 adolescent Facebook users, the authors explore the relationship between having a negative experience, privacy knowledge, and behavior. Their reports of bad experiences on Facebook are categorized as bullying/meanness, unwanted contact, exposure/unintentional disclosure, and misunderstandings. Adolescents who report having a bad experience are more likely to protect their privacy, and this relationship is mediated by knowledge of the privacy settings. Participants who experience negative consequences are more aware of the risks of online disclosure and how to protect themselves, which results in greater information control. Implications for educating adolescents about privacy and disclosure online are discussed.

Getting It On Versus Getting It Over With Sexual Motivation, Desire, and Satisfaction in Intimate Bonds

Across three studies, we demonstrate that pursuing sex for approach goals, such as to enhance intimacy, fuels satisfaction and pursuing sex for avoidance goals, such as to avoid disappointing a partner, detracts from satisfaction. In Study 1, we use hypothetical scenarios to provide experimental support for the associations between sexual goals and sexual and relationship satisfaction. In Study 2, a dyadic daily experience study of dating couples, we demonstrate that daily sexual goals are associated with both partners’ daily relationship and sexual satisfaction. In Study 3, a dyadic daily experience study, we replicate the daily associations between sexual goals and satisfaction in a sample of long-term couples, and demonstrate that sexual goals impact partner’s relationship and sexual quality 4 months later. In all studies, the associations between sexual goals and enhanced satisfaction as reported by both partners were mediated by sexual desire. Implications for research on sexual motivation and close relationships are discussed.

Sources of Information about Dating and Their Perceived Influence on Adolescents

This study examined the impact of parents, peers, the media, and sex education on shaping adolescents’knowledge about dating relationships. Half of the 100 (48 females, 52 males) participants were early adolescents (13 to 14 years) and half were middle adolescents (15 to 16 years). Through a questionnaire, participants identified the quantity of information, perceived correctness, and influence of each of the sources. Friends and sex education teachers were perceived to provide the most information, adults to provide the most accurate information, and friends to have the greatest influence on dating choices. Sex differences existed across various questions and source types. Girls received more information on dating across sources, perceived parents and the media to be more accurate sources of information, and were more influenced by their parents than were boys. Boys gave higher rankings to dating partners and dating behavior as comfortable sources of information than did girls.

Gender differences in scripts for different types of dates

The primary objective of this study was to determine whether males and females have different views about the partner behaviors that constitute positive, negative, and typical dating experiences. Undergraduate students (50 males, 70 females; primarily Caucasian) were asked to rate the likelihood of sexually suggestive and nonsexual events in “good,” “bad,” and “typical” date contexts. For good and typical dates, men and women identified many of the same events as likely to occur. However, sexually charged events were more salient for men in these contexts, as shown by the higher mean likelihood ratings men gave to items describing sexually suggestive partner behaviors. For bad dates, there was a striking gender difference in the behaviors judged likely to occur. Women gave higher mean likelihood ratings to sexually charged events in bad dates. Furthermore, women incorporated sexually charged events in their scripts whereas men did not. These findings have implications for our understanding of how males and females view the development of sexual intimacy in dating.

Keeping the Spark Alive: Being Motivated to Meet a Partner’s Sexual Needs Sustains Sexual Desire in Long-Term Romantic Relationships

How can couples keep the sexual spark alive in long-term relationships? The current study draws upon existing research and theory on both communal relationships and approach-avoidance models of social motivation to test the hypothesis that individual differences in the motivation to meet a partner’s sexual needs, termed sexual communal strength, predict heightened feelings of sexual desire in long-term partnerships. In a 21-day daily experience study of 44 long-term couples, individuals higher in sexual communal strength engaged in daily sexual interactions for approach goals, and in turn, reported high levels of daily sexual desire. Sexual communal strength also buffered against declines in sexual desire over a 4-month period of time. These associations held after controlling for general communal strength, relationship satisfaction, sexual frequency, age, and whether or not the couples had children. These findings demonstrate the utility of extending theories of communal motivation to the sexual domain of relationships.

Gender and perceived pay entitlement : Testing for effects of experience with income

This article reports on 2 studies where variations on a research design from the literature on gender and perceived pay entitlement were used to test for effects of past pay experience and salience of the pay experience for the participants. In Study 1, level of previous income was not a predictor of self-payment behavior for women or men, and men allocated more pay to themselves than did women. In Study 2, women and men did not differ on perceived entitlement when the income and work experience were made salient, but they did in the nonsalient condition, as in Study 1. Also, past income and self-pay were positively correlated for women in the salient condition. Further, when the data from Study 1 and Study 2 from the same condition (past income nonsalient) were combined, those with the higher previous income level paid themselves more than others, among both men and women.

Exploring Negative Dating Experiences and Beliefs About Rape Among Younger and Older Women

Although there is extensive research describing negative dating experiences and rape myth beliefs among university- and college-age women, there is little exploration of these issues among older dating women. An exploratory study that extends existing research by investigating rape myth beliefs and negative dating experiences of women ranging in age from 18 to 85 years is described. Participants (N = 115) completed a questionnaire which included a standardized measure of rape myth adherence (R-Scale; Costin, 1985), and a series of questions that assessed concerns about the potential for negative experiences while dating and actual negative dating experiences (ranging from unwanted affection to rape). There were remarkable similarities among younger and older women with respect to their dating behaviors and experiences. Women from both age groups reported being the target of negative dating experiences and being concerned about these experiences-with older women expressing slightly more concern. Older women, however, endorsed rape myths to a greater extent. This suggests that older women may be at greater risk for self-deprecation because they may be more likely to attribute the negative experiences they encounter to personal faults. Findings highlight the need for more life-span research of dating experiences and attitudes towards dating violence.

Women's sexual pressure tactics and adherence to related attitudes: A step toward prediction

We examined the relationship between womens attitudes about male sexuality and the use of overt and covert pressure tactics to facilitate sex with reluctant or uninterested men. Measures of the likelihood of use of pressure tactics and of the acceptance of sexual stereotypes related to mens sexual interest and availability were completed by 234 women from southwestern Ontario. Womens reported likelihood of using both overt (β = .31, p < .001) and covert (β = .30, p < .001) pressure tactics were associated with a belief in male sexual availability for married women, and with a disagreement with beliefs in a gender‐dependent sex drive for unmarried women (β = ‐.32, p < .01). These results are discussed in terms of pervasive norms about mens sexual interest and the potential effects on mens and womens dating behavior.