ABSTRACT

Young people describe refusing sexual activity as difficult or embarrassing; however, what specific internal feelings young adults associate with refusing sexual activity is unclear. We assessed the positive and negative internal feelings related to refusing different sexual behaviors using sentiment analysis. We also examined if positive and negative internal refusal feelings varied by gender and the intersection of gender and racial/ethnic identity. Young adults (n = 574, 481 women, 93 men, M = 19.2, SD = 1.43) from Canada and the U.S. completed an open-ended survey about how they felt about their experiences refusing sexual activity. Using sentiment analysis, responses were coded as either positive or negative and overwhelmingly, feelings associated with refusing sexual activity were identified as negative. Women and women of color reported more negative feelings than men and White women. However, there were some distinct positive feelings noted from young adults (e.g., feeling respected, comfortable). Young adults appear to internalize negative feelings about their refusals which may relate to social and cultural norms. Moving forward, sexual health programs could focus on normalizing and destigmatizing refusals so that young adults do not feel negatively about refusing sexual activity, with a particular emphasis on helping women and women of color to feel confident and empowered in their refusals.

摘要

年轻人将拒绝性活动描述为困难或尴尬；然而，年轻人与拒绝性活动相关的具体内心感受是什么尚不清楚。我们使用情绪分析评估了与拒绝不同性行为相关的积极和消极的内部感受。我们还检查了积极和消极的内部拒绝感受是否因性别以及性别与种族/民族认同的交叉而异。年轻人（n = 574，481 名女性，93 名男性，M = 19.2，SD = 1.43) 来自加拿大和美国完成了一项关于他们对拒绝性活动的经历的感受的开放式调查。使用情绪分析，反应被编码为积极或消极，绝大多数与拒绝性活动相关的感觉被确定为消极。与男性和白人女性相比，女性和有色人种女性报告的负面情绪更多。然而，从年轻人身上注意到了一些明显的积极感受（例如，感到受到尊重、舒适）。年轻人似乎将拒绝的负面情绪内化，这可能与社会和文化规范有关。展望未来，性健康计划可以专注于使拒绝正常化和去污名化，以便年轻人不会对拒绝性活动感到消极，