Sandra L. Caron

University of Maine | UM · College of Education and Human Development

This qualitative study sought to provide a deeper understanding of the experiences of college women who had been bullied while in middle school and/or high school. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 college women between the ages of 18-23 who were asked to describe the bullying behaviors they experienced, the impact it had on them at the ti...

This exploratory study investigated pubic hair removal behavior among 295 college men and women. Survey questions explored the extent to which young people remove their pubic hair, by what means, how often, and reasons for such behavior. Pubic hair removal by friends and sexual partners, as well as expectations of sexual partners was also explored....

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of the decision made by some college women who are raped to tell no one. In-depth interviews were conducted with 15 college women between the ages of 19-24 who had never shared their sexual assault with anyone prior to speaking to the researchers. This study provides a systematic investigation...

This qualitative study sought to understand the experiences of home-based counselors working in a rural setting. In-depth interviews were conducted with 12 counselors who were asked to describe their experiences in the areas of preparedness, professional development, challenges, and gender-specific experiences. Fourteen coding categories emerged fr...

This colorfully illustrated book is designed to help parents and other educators talk with children about how babies are made and families are formed. It begins by explaining the typical way of getting pregnant through sexual intercourse. However, it acknowledges that some couples have difficulty conceiving and may turn to assisted reproductive tec...

In this second edition of The Sex Lives of College Students results are presented of more than a 100-question human sexuality survey administered over the past quarter century (from 1990 to 2015) to thousands of college students ages 18-22. The goal is to better understand their sexual attitudes and behaviors, as well as trends. The findings raise...

The focus of this exploratory study was to investigate the experience of male virginity loss involving a sexually experienced (non-virgin) female with an inexperienced (virgin) male. Specifically, this qualitative research focused on the analysis of 237 stories collected from college students. While the stereotypical image is of the experienced mal...

This exploratory study provides a greater understanding of the long-term impact of infertility on women. Interviews were conducted with 12 infertile women who are postmenopausal and who remained childless. The women were asked to reflect on their experience of infertility and childlessness. Findings provide a greater awareness of the long-term impa...

This exploratory study investigated the inclusion of articles related to sexuality in magazines targeted to mothers over a 20-year period. Articles in the most popular parenting magazines, including American Baby, Baby Talk, Fit Pregnancy, Good Housekeeping, Mothering, Parenting, Parents, and Working Mother, were analyzed for sexuality content from...

The Sex Lives of College Students presents the results of more than a 100-question human sexuality survey administered over the past two decades to thousands of college students ages 18-22. The goal is to better understand their sexual attitudes and behaviors, as well as trends. The findings raise awareness and provide perspective about students' u...

The present study replicated research conducted decades earlier (Goldman & Goldman, 1982a; Koch, 197480) on what children in the United States know about conception and birth compared to those in other countries. Specifically, response drawings by 48 six-year-old boys and girls from England, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United States were compa...

Skating thru Hockey: A Fan’s Guide to Youth, College, and the Professional Game provides the basics for understanding hockey – including the various levels, how it is played, and the basic offensive and defensive situations. It also includes a close-up look at what happens before, during, and after the game, as well as a description of some of the...

Tackling Football: A Woman’s Guide to the College Game provides women with the basics for understanding a college football game – how it is played, the various playing positions, and basic offensive and defensive strategies. It includes a close-up look at what happens before, during, and after the game, as well as how to listen to a play-by-play. I...

This exploratory study investigated factors that Child Protective Service caseworkers believe lead to change for the domestic violence abuser and victim, and ultimately lead to success in terms of reunifying children who have been removed from their parents due to domestic violence. In-depth interviews with six caseworkers examined both successful...

The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy, births, and abortions of all industrialized countries. On the contrary, The Netherlands has the lowest rates. Using qualitative and quantitative methods, this retrospective study investigated American and Dutch college women's sexual behavior, attitudes, and comfort to better understand the...

This study provides an analysis of gay men's magazines, examining both the content and advertisements. Four magazine titles were selected, including The Advocate, Genre, Instinct, and Out, each targeting gay men as its target audience. These magazines were coded for both article content and advertisement content. In the advertisement analysis, both...

This is a study consisting of in-depth interviews with 12 women who were victims/survivors of acquaintance rape while attending a university in the Northeast. The interviews focused on research questions concerning actions taken by the victim/survivor after the assault, reactions to her disclosure of the assault, and the impact of assault. It was f...

This study investigated the experiences of 17 college students whose parents divorced while they were in college. The survey explored three major areas of interest: The student's initial reaction to the divorce, the impact of the divorce on the student's relationship with their parents and family, and the impact of the divorce on the student on a p...

Using a convenient question/answer format, this brief, easy-to-read, affordable paperback is designed specifically for today's young adults to answer basic sexual questions in a friendly, nonthreatening, age-appropriate way. Featuring questions that come from young adults themselves, it helps readers wade through the barrage of information/misinfor...

This study provides insight into the lives of eight married couples involved in an age-heterogamous relationship where the wife is ten or more years older than her husband. While there is a lot of information in the literature about men who date and marry younger women, the research on this subject is very limited or outdated. This exploratory stud...

This study examined the impact of children With autism on their families. TWenty-one parents Who Were the primary caregivers Were intervieWed about (a) recognition and diagnosis of autism in their child, (b) intervention services accessed, and (c) the impact of having a child With autism on their family. The results suggest that families Who have a...

The purpose of this study was to explore the dating experiences of older women, specifically heterosexual women between the ages of 35 and 50 years compared to a group of younger women (ages between 20 to 25 years). One finding of this study is that many of the older women chose men who were younger than they. The results of this study highlight th...

This survey provides information on the status of family life/sexuality education in the State of Maine from 1990 to 2000. Responses were provided from 274 Health Education teachers and Family and Consumer Sciences teachers surveyed in 1990 and 147 teachers surveyed in 2000 from Maine's middle schools and high schools. Information was obtained in f...

The purpose of this study was to compare data collected from 508 Greek members at a large, northeastern land grant university in 1994 and 2000, examining both alcohol use and its consequences. This study supports past research findings showing a high incidence of alcohol consumption among fraternity and sorority members. However, by comparing the r...

This study investigated the sexual attitudes and experiences in adolescence of 242 individuals who graduated from the same high school in the northeastern United States over a 50-year period. Specifically, a survey was mailed to members of the class of 1950, the class of 1975, and the class of 2000 to examine changes over time. Overall findings sug...

The purpose of this study was to examine college students' attitudes on a variety of sexual issues over the past ten years. The study focused on attitudes toward virginity, premarital sex, homosexuality, abortion, oral sex, and the role of love in a sexual relationship for 2,039 college students attending a large state university in the northeast d...

This study examined 392 regrettable sex stories submitted by college students attending a large public university in the northeast. Stories were coded for common themes. In nearly half the sexual episodes (49%), the individuals were drinking. However, only 16% cited “I was drunk” as the primary reason for regretting the sexual experience. Other com...

An abundance of literature exists concerning the marital relationship. While most research focuses on divorce and the social consequences of this phenomenon, more recently social scientists have focused on the marriages that remain intact. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into what factors make marriages last. This study used qualitati...

Few studies have been conducted to understand the phenomenon of transvestism, or crossdressing, as it is commonly referred. The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of crossdressing on a person’s dating/love relationships and sexual practices. The study was comprised of a non-random sampling of 21 male heterosexual crossdressers who res...

The current study was designed to provide an in-depth description of the experiences of 29 persons living with a seropositive status, specifically addressing the issues of how this affects intimate partner relationships and sexual self-image. Data were collected using a 25-question, open-ended interview instrument. Data analysis supports findings o...

The present study builds upon previous research examining variables related to sexual assault. Previous studies have linked sexual aggression with attitudes toward rape as well as hostility toward women. Recent high-profile cases involving athletes and sexual assault have raised questions about the link with athletes. In fact, recent research has s...

This study is an extension of the contentanalysis conducted by K. Peirce [(1990) “AFeminist Theoretical Perspective on the Socialization ofTeenage Girls Through Seventeen Magazine,” SexRoles, Vol. 23, pp. 491-500]. Her study examined thecontent of Seventeen magazine for the years 1961, 1972,and 1985, and the impact of the feminist movement fromthe...

Relationships among U.S. college students' (N = 618) attitudes toward rape myths and their sex role orientation, affective responses to sexuality, sex role egalitarianism, and attitudes toward violence against women were investigated. Results indicated that men were more tolerant of rape, more likely to attribute blame for rape to the victim, and l...

Analysis of data collected from 124 lesbians (aged 20–66 yrs) currently involved in a couple relationship indicated that closeting was related to the couple's relationship quality. Openness vs secrecy with family and friends was most highly associated with the quality of their relationship. Further analyses suggest that particular family behaviors...

This study investigated the impact of interventions designed to affect contraceptive knowledge and attitudes on the intent to use and reported use of contraceptives among 362 first year college students. After completing a pretest questionnaire, students were randomly assigned to a nonintervention control group or one of four workshops utilizing di...

Examined knowledge and understanding of conception and birth in 40 children (aged 5–12 yrs). Ss were asked to verbally and pictorially answer 2 questions: "How are babies made?" and "How are babies born?" Responses were scored using the Children's Sexuality Awareness Scale (P. Koch, 1974) and the Origin of Babies Scale (based on a Likert-type scale...

Among a self‐selected group of 330 first‐year college students we assessed frequency of condom use, reasons for using condoms, and attitudes toward condoms, sexuality, and the double standard. A packet including demographic and sexual history items, along with three attitude measures, was distributed to a random sample of first‐year students. The m...

A 1-hr seminar for training parents to be more effective sex educators of their children was developed and implemented in the workplace. A description of the program, entitled Project F.A.C.T.S. (Families and Children Talking About Sexuality), and the results of the evaluation are provided. Pretest–posttest results from 156 parents who participated...

Sexual assault, including both date rape and gang rape, is an area of great concern for college students today. The University of Maine is addressing this serious national problem through a unique peer education program that enlists athletes as role models for appropriate social and sexual behavior, as well as of physical strength, agility, and sta...

Issues surrounding intentions to parent are crucial given new reproductive technologies and increased infertility. Six hundred young, unmarried college graduates were interviewed concerning parenting plans. Coding categories, developed from their responses, were narcissistic concerns, societal concerns, generative concerns, attitudes toward childre...

To assess thoughts, perceptions, attitudes, and behavior related to AIDS, data were collected from 2 similar samples of college students. The sets of data were collected 18 months apart. Results indicate increased awareness and knowledge and changed attitudes and behaviors in some cases, but the absolute magnitudes of the differences are small for...

A total of 365 men (96 nonathletes, 106 individual sportsmen, 163 team sportsmen) completed a measure of sex-role orientation, the Bern Sex-role Inventory, a measure of views of women's roles (the Attitudes Towards Women Scale), and an index of attitudes towards men's and women's premarital heterosexual behavior, the Reiss Premarital Sexual Permiss...

Includes vita. Thesis (M.S.) in Human Development--University of Maine, 1982. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 39-47).