Place and Power: How Campus Culture Impacts the Perceptions about Sexual Concurrency Among African American Male Collegians Open Access

Abstract

This qualitative study was exploratory in nature and sought to investigate the connections between campus culture and sexual concurrency among male college students. Sexual concurrency is the act of having multiple sexual partnerships within overlapping time periods (Adimora, Schoenbac & Doherty, 2006). Sexually concurrent partnerships have been identified as risk factors for the transmission of HIV and STIs (Adimora et al., 2006; Lenior, et al., 2006). Women currently outnumber men in college, this coupled with the nature of college relationships suggest that more causal partnerships are permitted. Using a phenomenological approach, 15 semi-structured, in-depth interviews were conducted with African American men ages 18-25 that were currently enrolled full-time at a Historically Black College. Results suggest that campus culture plays an important role in the development of masculine identity in that students have a different understanding of their role within the broader institution as they matriculate through the college. Yet in terms of sexual risk behaviors, including sexual concurrency, the intra-group differences vary vastly, from those who are celibate to those who have multiple sexual relationships across different institutions. The young men discuss their rationales for their stance on sexuality mentioning perceived lack of privacy, the sheer number of women available, competition between men on campus or desire to focus on high achievement and post graduation plans. These findings suggest that African American men are complex and diverse; thus, future studies should be conducted exclusively with African American collegiate men to better account for the within group diversity for use in future interventions.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1-Introduction.................................................................................................. 1

The Nature of Sexual Partnerships in College Settings................................................ 2

Theoretical Framework................................................................................................. 3

Study Rationale.............................................................................................................. 4

Chapter 2- Literature Review........................................................................................ 6

Overview......................................................................................................................... 6

Masculinity and Sexuality.............................................................................................. 6

The Making of the Modern Collegiate Relationship...................................................... 8

Being Black and Male in College.................................................................................. 11

Chapter 3- Methods....................................................................................................... 13

Background on Original Study "An Exploration of Reproductive Health and Protective Behaviors among College Students"13

Participants from Original Study................................................................................ 13

Methodology from Original Study............................................................................... 13

Compensation for Original Study................................................................................ 15

Original Study Instruments........................................................................................ 15

Secondary Analysis...................................................................................................... 16

Chapter 4- Results......................................................................................................... 18

Description of Participants.......................................................................................... 18

Differences in Relationship Types.............................................................................. 19

Dating and Campus Culture........................................................................................ 21

Expectations of Black Males Attending an HBC.......................................................... 22

Reasons Not to Date...................................................................................................... 23

It's not Dating, It's Just Sex.......................................................................................... 24

The Freshmen Effect and Views on Casual Sex.......................................................... 24

Concurrency................................................................................................................. 26

Girlfriend Back Home................................................................................................................................................... 27

Views on Oral Sex............................................................................................................................................................ 28

Special Circumstances.................................................................................................................................................. 28

Chapter 5- Discussion.................................................................................................. 30

Introduction................................................................................................................. 30

Discussion of Findings................................................................................................. 31

Integration into and Self- Identification with Campus Culture......................................................... 31

Perceived differences between Dating Relationships and Sexual Relationships.................... 32

Personal Perceptions Surrounding Sexual Concurrency...................................................................... 33

Implications and Future Research.............................................................................. 34

Strengths and Limitations........................................................................................... 35

Conclusions................................................................................................................... 36

References...................................................................................................................... 37

Appendix A..................................................................................................................... 40

About this Master's Thesis

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School	Rollins School of Public Health
Department	Behavioral Sciences and Health Education
Degree	MPH
Submission	Master's Thesis
Language	English
Research Field	Psychology, General Health Sciences, Public Health
Keyword	Perception Sexual Concurrency African American Collegiate Black MSW Campus Culture HBC Men
Committee Chair / Thesis Advisor	Thompson, Winifred, Emory University
Committee Members	Younge, Sinead, Morehouse College
Partnering Agencies	University, college or educational institution (other than Emory)

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