Beyond words: Relationships between emoji use, attachment style, and emotional intelligence.

Assessing the relationships between emoji use and traits related to communication and interpersonal skills can provide insights into who employs emojis and the psychological mechanisms underlying computer-mediated communications. This online study investigated associations between emoji use frequency, attachment style, and emotional intelligence across genders and relationship types in a Mechanical Turk sample of 320 adults (≥18y; 191 women, 123 men, and 4 transgender individuals). Correlational analyses showed that emotional intelligence was positively related to emoji use with friends, while avoidant attachment was negatively related to emoji use with friends and dating or romantic partners.

U=U: "Undetectable Equals Untransmittable" Perceptions Among Men Who Have Sex With Men Active Duty Service Members: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Undetectable = Untransmittable (U=U) is a key message emphasizing that antiretroviral therapy suppresses HIV and prevents its sexual transmission. However, dissemination of U=U varies among health care providers, potentially leading to knowledge gaps among patients. Little research exists on the understanding of U=U among active duty men who have sex with men (MSM) in the U.

Camsites as a Context for Sexual Consent Education: User Experiences.

Understanding sexual consent is essential for the promotion of healthy sexual relationships and the prevention of sexual violence. Emerging sexual technologies can provide opportunities for users to learn about and potentially practice navigating sexual consent with partners, but this field of research is still nascent. In this study, we surveyed 5,828 erotic camsite users to determine whether they learned something new about sexual consent from their use of the site.

Exploring patterns in mental health treatment and interests of single adults in the United States: a secondary data analysis.

Objective: The objective of this study is to examine mental health treatment utilization and interest among the large and growing demographic of single adults in the United States, who face unique societal stressors and pressures that may contribute to their heightened need for mental healthcare.

Method: We analyzed data from 3,453 single adults, focusing on those with possible mental health treatment needs by excluding those with positive self-assessments. We assessed prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of mental health treatment, including psychotherapy and psychiatric medication use, and interest in attending psychotherapy among participants who had never attended.

Women Who Experience More Affectionate Touch Report Better Body Satisfaction and Relationship Outcomes.

Affectionate touch (e.g. hugging, handholding) is an essential component of many intimate relationships and is a primary contributor to overall relationship satisfaction as well as sexual satisfaction.

Medical Mistrust and Healthcare Seeking Among Women of Color with Chronic Vulvovaginal Pain.

Background: Chronic vulvovaginal pain (CVVP), an umbrella term encompassing several gynecological pain conditions (e.g., vulvodynia, vaginismus), has a prevalence rate of 7-8% in the USA and is characterized by considerable diagnostic delay in patient experience research.

American Singles' Attitudes Toward Future Romantic/Sexual Partners' COVID-19 Vaccination Status: Evidence for both Vigilance and Indifference in a National Sample.

Unlabelled: Around 142 million American adults are currently single; at least half of these singles want to pursue a romantic partner. Romantic dating can involve exposure to numerous people. Thus, dating can significantly impact pathogen exposure risk.

Constructive communication patterns as related to relationship satisfaction, seizure severity, and patient activation among people with epilepsy.

Purpose: People with epilepsy (PWE) must manage their condition properly for both quality and longevity of life. Effective self-management is critical and can be monitored via levels of patient activation (i.e.

Sexual Desire in the Time of COVID-19: How COVID-Related Stressors Are Associated with Sexual Desire in Romantic Relationships.

The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting social distancing measures have caused widespread social and economic disruptions, resulting in spikes in unemployment and financial instability, along with drastic changes to people's ability to feel socially connected. Many of the changes resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic are risk factors for depressive symptoms, which are associated with lower levels of sexual desire. The current research (N = 4,993) examined whether responses to external stressors brought on by COVID-19 (i.

Medical avoidance among marginalized groups: the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Medical avoidance is common among U.S. adults, and may be emphasized among members of marginalized communities due to discrimination concerns.

PrEP Familiarity, Interest, and Usage Among 364 Black and Hispanic Adults in Indiana.

Pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP, is a once-daily preventative prescription pill against HIV for adults or adolescents who have sex or inject drugs. PrEP may be especially useful among Black and Hispanic Americans, who are particularly at risk for HIV in the United States. In spite of this vulnerability, rates of PrEP use in Black and Hispanic communities are low.

Chronic Vulvovaginal Pain in Patients of Color: Benefits of Partner Supportiveness in Relation to Sexual Dissatisfaction and Distress.

Within the social support literature, individuals who experience chronic pain have shown many positive outcomes and benefits when receiving the appropriate level of emotional support. In the current study, individuals who experience chronic vulvovaginal pain (CVVP) were asked about their partner's supportiveness, other sources of emotional support, and their satisfaction and stress surrounding sexual activity. The participants ( = 333) also identified as people of color, with a majority identifying as African American or Black ( = 227).

Engagement with Emerging Forms of Sextech: Demographic Correlates from a National Sample of Adults in the United States.

Social technology is ever-evolving, and increasingly offers novel domains for sexual experiences. In the current study, we investigated demographic correlates of engagement with emerging forms of , defined here as internet-based applications, platforms, or devices used for sexual pleasure. Our web-based, demographically representative sample included 7,512 American adults aged 18-65 years, with a near-even gender split of men/women and moderate racial diversity (63% White).

How Can I Get COVID?: Understanding Differences in American Heterosexual and Sexual Minority Men's Risk Perception.

Men are more vulnerable to COVID-19 infections compared to women, but their risk perceptions around COVID-19 are persistently lower. Further, men often engage in less health promotion behavior because self-care in this capacity is seen as weak or less masculine. This combination has consequences for mortality; thus, a better understanding of men's COVID-19 cognitions and individual difference factors is critical.

Changes in Utilization of Birth Control and PrEP During COVID-19 in the USA: A Mixed-Method Analysis.

In the USA, the COVID-19 pandemic has created challenges beyond the direct consequences of the infection. Because of shifting resources in response to need, many domains within the healthcare sector unrelated to COVID-19 have had interrupted abilities to provide care. In the current study, we focus on preventative sexual health care during the pandemic.

Sextech Use as a Potential Mental Health Reprieve: The Role of Anxiety, Depression, and Loneliness in Seeking Sex Online.

Depression, anxiety, and loneliness have long been recognized as global mental health concerns. To temporarily relieve psychological distress, self-soothing behavior is common, including engagement in sexual behaviors that are linked to positive mental well-being. Considering the COVID-19 pandemic further exacerbated many mental health ailments alongside physical distancing regulations, we specifically examined online sexual behavior via the use of emergent digital sexual technologies, or sextech.

Dating and sexualities across the life course: The interactive effects of aging and gender.

Research on aging and sexuality has proliferated in recent years. However, little is known about the gender-specific effects of aging on dating and sexuality. Using survey data from the 2014 wave of Singles in America (SIA), a comprehensive survey on adult singles' experiences with dating and sexuality, we examine whether age differentially affects heterosexual women's and men's dating and sexual attitudes and behaviors and whether gender differences persist across the life course.

Relationship and sexual satisfaction are associated with better disease self-management in persons with epilepsy.

Prior research has demonstrated that PWEs view intimate interpersonal relationships as personally important and as a substantive challenge in their lives. This is significant as high-quality intimate relationships have been linked with greater well-being and better healthcare self-management in other disease contexts. For persons with epilepsy (PWEs), self-management is critical for seizure control, lower mortality, and better quality of life.

Desire, Familiarity, and Engagement in Polyamory: Results From a National Sample of Single Adults in the United States.

Coupledom and notions of intimacy and family formation with one committed partner are hallmarks of family and relationship science. Recent national surveys in the United States and Canada have found that consensually non-monogamous relationships are common, though prevalence of specific types of consensual non-monogamy are unknown. The present research draws on a United States Census based quota sample of single adults ( = 3,438) to estimate the prevalence of desire for, familiarity with, and engagement in polyamory-a distinct type of consensually non-monogamous relationship where people typically engage in romantic love and sexual intimacy with multiple partners.

Mobile sex-tech apps: How use differs across global areas of high and low gender equality.

Digital technologies are increasingly intertwined into people's sexual lives, with growing scholarly interest in the intersection of sex and technology (sex-tech). However, much of the literature is limited by its over emphasis on negative outcomes and the predominance of work by and about North Americans, creating the impression that sex-tech is largely a Western phenomenon. Based on responses from 130,885 women in 191 countries, we assessed how women around the world interact with mobile technology for sex-related purposes, and whether in areas of greater gender inequality, technological accessibility may be empowering women with knowledge about sexuality.

Women's and Men's Reactions to Receiving Unsolicited Genital Images from Men.

Recently, mounting anecdotal reports - mostly by heterosexual women on Internet-based dating platforms - have drawn attention to the frequency of men sending photos of their own genitals (i.e., "dick pics").