FROM : College Student Sexual Risk Taking Behaviors: Continuum of HIV Prevention Needed on College Campuses

Response to reviewer comment:-

The summary gives an account of what will be read below and is achieved in an appropriate extent. The same with the keywords.

Thanks.  No suggestion for change made.

This comment is more about what this statement invites me to think about: is there something in this transition to adulthood that is particularly difficult for young people that could imply "changing that social and psychological risk" for a more concrete one expressed in sexual behavior? (I'm thinking about the notion of risk that David Le Breton works on)

Thanks for your comment. This issue falls beyond the scope of our study, and an explanation has been added as a limitation in the discussion section.

It seems to me that the data presented are very interesting and important to raise the relevance of the research Most likely it is because of my bias as a rather qualitative researcher, which is why I miss some theoretical positioning or some comprehensive framework for risk.

The reviewer changes his position in the next comment.  Given that comment and the focus of this study, no changes were made

Perhaps my previous assessment can be understood in the definition of the purpose, since the purpose of the study seems to be rather descriptive.

We agree, See comment response above.

For me, the methodological section allows us to understand the ways and decisions that guided both the production of data and its analysis.

Thanks. We are glad it was easy to understand.

I understand that it may not be part of the authors' theoretical approach, but for me, it would be very enriching for the research not to reduce the understanding of risk to "situational factors" and perhaps complement it with more comprehensive elements of contemporary subjectivity.

Thanks for your comment. This issue falls beyond the scope of our study, and an explanation emphasizing the need for further research on the psychological and social factors of sexual behaviors has been added as a limitation in the discussion section. Please see the yellow highlighted statements in the discussion section.

It is true, but I still miss a more comprehensive perspective to think about possible actions or interventions along the lines of prevention. For example, the meanings of young people associated with sexuality (which will surely be different by gender). And something that I usually miss in research aimed at sexual education is the recognition of the pleasurable dimension of sexuality. Pleasure is generally invisible.

Thanks for your comment. This issue falls beyond the scope of our study, and an explanation has been added as a limitation in the discussion section. Please see the yellow highlighted statements in the discussion section.

OK. However, these prescriptions assume a purely rational subject and seem not to consider the subjective contradictions or the depth of the emotional and affective dimension that may be at the base

The purpose of the study was not designed to understand the why of sexual decision making but rather to describe what students do and how the university can provide educational programing and policies to bolster safety while on campus.

It is not clear to me what result of this research gives rise to this suggestion of sexual abstinence before marriage, rather it seems like a preconception with some moral-religious bias that has not been made explicit in the ethical-epistemological position of the research.

We are not attempting to make any claim based on the data or the lack of validity of abstinence only education.  Rather, in this paragraph, we are summarizing laws and policies in our state that result in students arriving on campus with a range of sexual health knowledge.  Rather, the purpose of the paragraph is to help set the stage for the changes that campuses should consider when designing programs and policies to assist students

It would be interesting to think of this heterogeneity also as a resource for possible action and intervention strategies that promote reflection and active exchange among students, rather than just considering them as passive objects of "information delivery."

Thanks for your comment. This issue falls beyond the scope of our study, and an explanation has been added as a limitation in the discussion section. Please see the yellow highlighted statements in the discussion section.

 

It seems to me that what could contribute to decision-making regarding this is to get closer to the understandings and meanings that students have regarding the use of condoms and not just focus on how they use them because they are not easily accessible or expensive. It seems to me that research, if it aims to promote regular condom use, cannot be blind to these understandings and affective positions of young people regarding condom use.

Thanks for your comment. This issue falls beyond the scope of our study, and an explanation emphasizing the need for further research on the psychological and social factors of sexual behaviors has been added as a limitation in the discussion section. Please see the yellow highlighted statements in the discussion section