Visibility and coping with minority stress: a gender-specific analysis among lesbians, gay men, and bisexuals in Flanders.

The role of visibility management strategies, as an extended measure of outness related to sexual orientation, has been rarely studied with the aim of explaining the experience of external stressors (i.e., experiences of everyday discrimination and perceived sanctioning of cross-gender behavior) and internal stressors (i.

From coming out to visibility management--a new perspective on coping with minority stressors in LGB youth in Flanders.

This article develops a model that describes relations among environmental characteristics, discrimination and visibility management, and the experience of minority stressors by lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth. The article elaborates on how visibility management (i.e.

Sense of belonging in secondary schools: a survey of LGB and heterosexual students in Flanders.

This study focuses on differences in sense of belonging between lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) and heterosexual students. Data from 1,745 secondary school students were collected with an online survey. Step-wise multiple regression analyses was used to investigate the relationship between sexual orientation and sense of school belonging.

Researching lived experience in health care: significance for care ethics.

The aim of this article is to demonstrate the usefulness of qualitative research for studying the ethics of care, bringing to light the lived experience of health care recipients, together with the importance of methods that allow reconstruction of the processes underlying this lived experience. Lived experiences of families being approached for organ donation, parents facing the imminent death of their child and patients being treated using stem cell transplantation are used to illustrate how ethical principles are differentiated, modified or contradicted by the narrative context of persons concerned. The integration of empirical data into ethics will help caregivers in their ethical decision making and may enrich care ethics as a narrative and interpretative field.

Perception and understanding of invasive alien species issues by nature conservation and horticulture professionals in Belgium.

We conducted a survey to determine how two professional sectors in Belgium, horticulture professionals and nature reserve managers (those directly involved in conservation), view the issues associated with invasive plant species. We developed and utilized a questionnaire that addressed the themes of awareness, concept and use of language, availability of information, impacts and, finally, control and available solutions. Using co-inertia analyses, we tested to what extent the perception of invasive alien species (IAS) was dependent upon the perception of Nature in general.

Stress-related growth, coming out, and internalized homonegativity in lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth. An examination of stress-related growth within the minority stress model.

This study investigates how young lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) individuals deal with coming out and how perceived personal growth may result from that experience. We considered stress-related growth as a mediator between coming-out experiences and internalized homonegativity (IH). Our sample was taken from an online survey and is comprised of 502 LGBs aged 14-30.

Acculturation strategies and mental health in gay, lesbian, and bisexual youth.

In this article, we examine the impact of acculturation strategies on minority stress and mental health in lesbian, gay, or bisexual (LGB) youth in Flanders, Belgium. Building on previous identity minority studies and on the social stress model, we investigate how LGB youth acculturate within both the LGB subculture and mainstream society and how this correlates with their mental health. Our sample is taken from an online survey and represents 561 LGB youth aged 14 through 21.

Testosterone, androgen receptor gene CAG repeat length, mood and behaviour in adolescent males.

Objectives: Androgen activity has been implicated in a range of traits and behaviours that have well-documented sex differences. However, the results of the studies on the relationship between testosterone and these traits and behaviours are inconsistent. This study has analyzed i) whether CAG repeat length, a presumed modulator of androgen receptor sensitivity, is associated with sex-dimorphic traits and behaviours (aggressive and non-aggressive risk-taking (ART and NART), dominance, depressive symptoms and self-esteem), and ii) whether CAG repeat length interacts with free testosterone (FT) with respect to these traits and behaviours.

Gender ideology, same-sex peer group affiliation and the relationship between testosterone and dominance in adolescent boys and girls.

Although the role of testosterone in the aetiology of social dominance is often suggested, surprisingly few studies have addressed the relationship between sex steroid hormones and dominance as a personality trait. In this paper, the relationship between testosterone and dominance is studied in a sample of adolescent boys and girls, taking into account the moderating role of gender ideology and same-sex peer group orientation. A direct association between free testosterone (FT) and dominance was found in girls but not in boys.

Estradiol, testosterone, differential association and aggressive and non-aggressive risk-taking in adolescent girls.

Although the relation between androgens and adolescent risk-taking has been relatively well documented in boys, little is known as to how sex steroid hormones relate to aggressive (ART) and/or non-aggressive adolescent risk-taking (NART) behavior in girls. On the basis of a sample of 298 adolescent girls (mean age: 14.3 years), we examined: (i) the relationship between serum levels of testosterone (T) and estradiol (E2) in relation to ART and NART and (ii) if differential association--having friends who are highly involved in risk-taking--moderates the relationship between relationships between hormones and risk-taking.

2d:4d, sex steroid hormones and human psychological sex differences.

Studies on 2d:4d, the ratio between the second and the fourth digit, as a possible indicator of prenatal androgen exposure, have failed to produce consistent results. This paper analyzes the relation between 2d:4d, sex steroids and well-documented sex differences in characteristics such as depression, dominance, and aggressive (ART) and non-aggressive adolescent risk-taking (NART) in a comparatively large sample of adolescent boys (N=301, mean age: 14.4 years) and girls (N=298, mean age: 14.

The role of testosterone in aggressive and non-aggressive risk-taking in adolescent boys.

While there exists increasing evidence of a relationship between testosterone (T) and risk-taking (RT), many issues remain unsolved. This paper tries to address two main-questions: (i) does T influence aggressive risk-taking (ART) and/or non-aggressive risk-taking (NART) behavior and (ii) is this relationship stable throughout age and pubertal development and how is the relationship affected by affiliations with peers that are highly involved in RT, referred to as differential association (DA)? For a sample of 301 third-grade adolescent boys (mean age 14.4 years), we assessed the relationship between serum levels of T and estradiol (E2), DA and ART/NART.

Summer holiday camps for gay and lesbian young adults: an evaluation of their impact on social support and mental well-being.

This study evaluates the effects of participating in a summer holiday camp for Flemish (Belgium) gay and lesbian young adults (N 197). Analysis showed to what extent participation affects the constitution and quality of friendships, the availability of confidant and appraisal support and reported levels of hopelessness, self-esteem, and depression. The study is based on panel data with a six-months interval.

Dimethyl sulfide removal from synthetic waste gas using a flat poly(dimethylsiloxane)-coated composite membrane bioreactor.

The reduction of volatile organic sulfur emissions should be completely as they cause odor nuisance, even when they are emitted in very small amounts. In general, biofilters are applied for odor reduction, but their operational control is limited. A new biotechnique for the treatment of complex emissions is the use of membranes integrated within bioreactors (MBRs).

Therapy adherence and highly active antiretroviral therapy: comparison of three sources of information.

With the advent of the highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART), adherence became one of the key issues within the behavioral management of the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. One of the central limitations in studying adherence to HAART is that usually one has to rely on self-reported measures of adherence. In this study, we combine information on adherence from several sources.

The cognitive structure of the domain of safe and unsafe gay sexual behaviour in Belgium.

This study compares the cognitive structure of sexual techniques of safe versus unsafe gay men older than 30 years. Subjects rated 25 sexual techniques by six bipolar adjective scales making up a short version of the semantic differential. Scales measured subjects' perception of the safety and gratification potential of the sexual techniques.

The social support of Flemish gay men: an exploratory study.

This study describes the sources and level of social support of Flemish gay men using data from surveys conducted in 1989 (n = 379) and 1993 (n = 553). Five indicators of social support were used: positive appraisal, perceived isolation, enacted social support, perceived material support, and perceived emotional support. The main results, which are cross validated across the two samples, are as follows.

Rapid identification of Mycobacterium xenopi from bacterial colonies or "Bactec" culture by the polymerase chain reaction and a luminescent sandwich hybridization assay.

Oligonucleotide primers were used in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify a specific 584-bp DNA fragment, located in the 16S RNA gene of Mycobacterium xenopi. This set of primers, X222 and X224, was able to discriminate between the pathogen and other mycobacterial species as well as non-mycobacterial strains; it detected down to 3 fg of M. xenopi DNA, i.

Coming out and AIDS-related high-risk sexual behavior.

How the withdrawal of social support associated with the coming out of gay men influences AIDS-related sexual risk-taking among Flemish (Belgian) gay men is analyzed. Recruited via key persons, the 379 gay men in this nonclinical cohort completed a lengthy, computerized questionnaire dealing with diverse aspects of gay life and culture. Independent variables include demographic characteristics, AIDS knowledge, coming-out histories, six social support dimensions, and personal resources.

Plasma lipoprotein(a) values and severity of coronary artery disease in a large population of patients undergoing coronary angiography.

To determine possible associations between lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] and the severity of coronary artery lesions, we measured lipid, apolipoprotein, and Lp(a) in a large population of Belgian patients (n = 1054) undergoing coronary angiography. In both women and men, univariate analysis demonstrated significant differences in the Lp(a) concentrations according to the severity of the coronary stenosis. However, after adjustment for possible confounding factors, many of these differences were attenuated, indicating that other variables that differentiate patients from control subjects also influence Lp(a) distribution.

Rapid detection of tuberculous and non-tuberculous mycobacteria by polymerase chain reaction amplification of a 162 bp DNA fragment from antigen 85.

A polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed for detection of mycobacteria using amplification of a 162 bp region of the genes coding for the mycobacterial antigen 85 complex. Strains belonging to the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex were further differentiated from non-tuberculous mycobacteria by hybridization of the PCR derived Southern blot with an internal oligonucleotide probe and washing under stringent conditions. The method allowed rapid and sensitive detection of mycobacterial DNA in uncultured clinical samples.

Alcohol and risky sex: in search of an elusive connection.

Since the publication of the 1986 article by Stall, McKusick, Wiley, Coates and Ostrow, the conclusion that drinking alcohol prior to or during erotic encounters increases the probability of engaging in high-risk sexual behavior has been widely accepted, despite some contradictory findings from research on this hypothesis. This paper presents the results of tests of the alcohol/risky-sex hypothesis in a cohort of gay men in Flanders, Belgium. Failing to find evidence to support the hypothesis of a general effect of alcohol on sexual risk taking, we argue that previous conclusions on this matter must be viewed with extreme caution, especially in light of the implications that this failure to replicate has for AIDS prevention programs.