In families where youth reported no parental influence, half of the sons said they had engaged in unprotected intercourse in the past year. The young men who reported family influence on their decisions to engage in safe sex said discussions with parents, including warnings and urgings to use condoms, made a difference. We tell him if there is anything that you hear at school and it doesn’t sound right to you, come and talk to us.” Closeness was typified by acceptance of the child’s sexual orientation and open communication about a variety of factors including the importance of safe sex.įor example, one mother reported, “He’s come home from school and told me different sexual things that are absolutely untrue, and my husband and I both set him straight. Overall, reported parent-child closeness emerged as the most effective influence for youth in avoiding high-risk sexual behavior. Parents were asked about their relationship with their children, their knowledge of HIV, and to assess their own influence on their child’s risk behaviors. Sons were asked about the nature of their family relationships, what they knew about HIV, whether or not they engaged in unsafe sexual behaviors, and whether parental relationships influenced their decisions to engage in safer sex.
Over a period of 18 months, LaSala and his research assistant, James Fedor, a PhD candidate, recorded audio and video from interviews with 38 gay and bisexual males between 14 and 21 years of age and at least one of their parents or caretakers living in New Jersey, and the New York City, Washington DC, and Philadelphia metropolitan areas. Close family connections seemed to provide a context for safety,” says Michael LaSala, associate professor at the Rutgers School of Social Work. “Youth had limited engagement in unsafe sex when the families were able to have open, reciprocal discussions that were low in disagreement. On the flip side, the study finds that disrupted family relationships result in risky sexual behaviors among this group. xXx sets out to entertain, and that it does.Positive relationships with family and open dialogue lead to more safe sex practices among young gay and bisexual people, report researchers. No one would believe a guy like Xander Cage would be recruited as an undercover agent in any sort of organization, but that's not really the point.
I think the bottom line is, this movie is so far-fetched and insane that it works as one of the best mindless action adventures of the last decade. Jackson & an equally clichéd turn from Marton Csokas.
The supporting characters are fittingly absurd and bizzare, led by a prototypical performance from Samuel L. All are staples of the franchise, and Xander Cage's first film outing is no different. Fast cars, explosions, women in scantily clad attire, incoherent plots, over-the-top villains, and catchy music. Essentially, this is just another Fast & Furious movie. Especially when it contains countless one-liners that do nothing but put a smile on my face from ear to ear. Or, at least the dialogue coming out of their mouths is awful.īut does a film like this really need to have great dialogue? I guess not. The humor is there, but in no way do I believe it's intentionally funny. xXx certainly has fun action, but that's about it.
Now, the Fast & Furious franchise has figured out the right balance of lighthearted humor, bada** action sequences, and developed characters who we actually care about. What's not to like about it? Heck, even the horribly awful things are entertaining.īack when Vin Diesel decided not to come back to the Fast & Furious franchise, he chose to join F&F 1 director Rob Cohen in taking on another ridiculous action extravaganza, xXx. If any future filmmakers are looking for inspiration in the guilty-pleasure high octane action genre, xXx is exactly the film to look into.