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Dr. Drew Pinsky — medical doctor, relationship expert, television personality and, most famously, radio host — has been dishing out sexual, health and addiction advice for decades. Dr. Drew answers layplay's questions about sexual health and safety on campus.
Q: WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE BIGGEST SEXUAL HEALTH CONCERN ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES TODAY?
I think the biggest concern is no different than in any other phase of life. It's about finding relationships and being happy. In college, the social constraints are so unnatural that people try to negotiate the hook-up culture.
Q: YOU'VE BEEN VOCAL ABOUT HPV FOR A WHILE NOW. WHAT SHOULD COLLEGE STUDENTS KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS?
Everyone should be vaccinated; it's been given approval for those aged 9 to 26.The earlier you get it,the more effective it is.The almost 4,000 deaths a year from cervical cancer caused by some strains of HPV can almost be eliminated.Fifty percent of college-aged people have the virus. Everyone should be vaccinated, use condoms and take careful risk measures.
Q: HOW CAN STUDENTS BE SAFER AND MORE HEALTHY WHEN GOING OUT?
One of the big issues that we're constantly dealing with is that if you look at every adverse health situation, like sexually transmitted diseases and even pregnancy, you find drugs or alcohol. People are getting loaded to handle the intensity of this unnatural social construct. They need to think of less intense ways to handle this social construct like having meals and sitting down together and giving each other one-on-one contact.
There's no single recipe for staying safe, but using less drugs and alcohol has an impact on staying safe.It's not about thinking that everyone needs to live up to the normative standard of the hormones-raising 17-year-old male. People are not happy when they just rely on the hook-up experience for a social life.
Q: WHAT ABOUT DISCOVERING NEW THINGS?
Enjoy college. It's a time to spread your wings a bit and discover things on your own. Yet to constantly do the hook-up as your primary goal is wrong. Many of my patients with addictions and problems have shown that it starts in college. Their problems may not have spun out of control in the same way had they not been endorsed in college.
Courtney Hagen
04→ JAYPLAY 04.26.2007
04→ JAYPLAY 04.26.2007