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Education, and by extension, school-based sexual health education for youth, falls under provincial and territorial jurisdiction in Canada, creating a tapestry of educational experiences across the country. Previous research has found general support for provid ing sexual health education in schools as reported by teachers, parents, and college/university students. The current study further explores this topic through an examination of the perspectives and opinions of high-school aged youth. The purpose of this study was to develop knowledge to better understand sexual health education experiences in Canada and help determine the extent to which youth feel informed and well supported to develop and maintain their sexual health and participate in healthy sexual and/ or romantic relationships. Twelve focus groups were conducted with youth (ages 12-19) across Canada and the transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. A total of 10 themes were identified related to what and how youth would like to learn, including four themes about the context and delivery of sexual health education and six themes about the content of sexual health education. Study findings highlight the need for youth perspectives when developing, implementing and evaluating sexual health education and provide insight to help inform recommendations for where educational improvements are warranted.

There is an absence of common sexual health education curricula in Canada, and learning experiences differ for youth across the country. Without a national standardized system to monitor the sexual health education delivery, research is needed to better understand these diverse learning experiences. Gender and sexually diverse youth in Canada may be overlooked and subjected to information that is exclusively focused on cisgender, heterosexual people, and experiences. Our study explored sexual health education learning experiences for youth in Canada and examined group differences based on self-reported gender and sexual identities. Participants ( N = 1507) completed an online survey with demographic questions and questions about experiences with sexual health education. Participants were 16–25 years old ( M = 18.06) and our sample was comprised of many sexually diverse participants ( n = 857). Most youth in our study received sexual health education (94%), although many received only a few (1-3) lessons or workshops (41%). Most participants received education in a school (95%) and from a teacher (87%). Differences in education context and educator type between gender and sexually diverse youth were not significant. The most commonly reported topics youth were exposed to were sexually transmitted infections (92%), physical anatomy and/or puberty (89%), and pregnancy and birth control (79%). Gender and sexually diverse youth reported lower percentages of topics learned for nearly all sexual topics listed in our study. Study findings are discussed by examining both strengths and areas for improvement for supporting youth learning through sexual health education in Canada.

Background Hypersexuality has been posited as the central defining feature of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder, and although the acceptance and inclusion of this construct in psychiatric nosologies provides some legitimacy, concerns surrounding terminology, assessment, and diagnosis remain. Aim The present study was an independent psychometric examination of 2 of the most commonly used measures of Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder; specifically, the gender invariance of the latent structure, reliability (test retest, internal consistency), and external correlates (concurrent validity) of these measures. Methods The Sexual Compulsivity Scale and the Hypersexual Behavior Inventory were completed by 2 nonclinical online community samples of cisgender women (ns = 525 and 359), cisgender men (ns = 419 and 364), and transgender or non-binary individuals (ns = 38 and 11). Outcomes Criterion based measures of sexual history and total sexual outlet (number of orgasms per week) were gathered to validate Sexual Compulsivity Scale and Hypersexual Behavior Inventory total and factor scores. Results Results supported the factorial validity of both assessment measures: correlated 3 factor solutions were established through exploratory factor analysis of 1 sample, and confirmatory factor analysis in the second sample. Multiple group confirmatory factor analysis, conducted on the 2 combined samples, also supported the gender invariance of the 3-factor solutions. Additional basic psychometric indices of test-retest and internal consistency reliability and criterion-related (concurrent) validity conducted across the 2 online samples were supported. Clinical Implications Common measures of hypersexuality have potential for use in its assessment, treatment, and management. Strengths & Limitations Study strengths include: the inclusion of 2 fairly large and diverse online samples, thorough checks for insufficient effort/validity of responding, validity and reliability methodology (ie, measurement at multiple time points, obtaining behavioral indicators of sexual health), and a comprehensive set of psychometric analyses to inform conclusions regarding the external validity, reliability, and latent structure of hypersexuality measures across gender groups. Study limitations include: potential concerns related to validity and accuracy of responding owing to a reliance on self-report, the potential for selection bias, and limiting the examination of the latent structure of hypersexuality to cisgender men and women such that the results may not generalize to gender diverse populations. Conclusion Hypersexuality is a multidimensional construct, with a common latent structure among cisgender men and women, consistency in measurement over time, and meaningful concurrent associations with behavioral criteria that have relevance for sexual health.

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