Discussion about the Decreased Cortical Representation of Genital

Question: Discuss about the Decreased Cortical Representation of Genital. Answer: Introduction: Studies in the past have suggested a strong correlation between sexual assault and substance abuse. Although substance abuse has always been claimed as a major contributing factor to sexual violence inflicted on the college students, sexual violence can happen to any individual regardless of what the situation is, and whether the perpetrator is using drugs for intoxicating the victim or not (Post). However, if it is not merely for substance abuse, it is important to identify and assess the factors that contribute to sexual violence since sexual assault every year causes irrecoverable loss to the students of different colleges and Universities across the globe. The thesis statement of the present essay is that substance abuse is not always the cause of sexual assault in colleges. According to many, despaired people resort to substance abuse and the same pushes them to perpetrate sexual assault in the college campuses. Anger and frustration are indeed two common feelings found in the molester while perpetrating sexual violence on the college mates. However, people with substance abuse are not the only ones to suffer from despair. The young college students often are unable to live life up to full expectations. This is the time when most of them have left schools, and have entered the threshold of college life with the expectation of excelling well in their professional lives. However, this is also the time when the young students start becoming aware of the probable, bleak prospects of their career, and the uncertainty of life, as their awareness develops after reading the newspapers about the unemployment problems of their countries (Kempe). As sensitive as they are, they find it hard to reconcile themselves to the grim realities of life, and thus seek to fin d relief by deriving sexual pleasure in the most violent way. Besides, the unemployment problem is not always the only reason, as other factors such as political instability in the nations, regular conflicts between family members or even peer pressure can cause frustration in the college goers, that can make them incapable of deriving any sort of meaning in life. It is at this point of time that the college goers are found to engage in activities involving sexual assault. In such situations, drug addiction of the student does not have any role to play. It has been argued that drugs increase sexual impulsivity; hence the drug addict college students are found to perpetrate sexual assaults. However, it cannot be deemed to be the only reason behind sexual assault committed against college students. Since the time of adolescence, a large number of students start getting addicted to violent pornographic videos and contents that contribute to their aggressive and sexually dominating personality of some of the college goers. A recent research study conducted by Martin Daubney stated that exposure to explicit sexual content at an early age, can contribute to the development of the porn addiction, which is the ulterior cause behind the incidents of sexual assault as well (McCabey). Thus, porn addiction, and not substance abuse is here the reason. Besides, it is equally important to note here that more than often excessive intoxication and substance abuse are mostly deemed as the primary factors leading to the sexual assault in the college campuses. However, many research studies have claimed that the hook up culture, that dictates one to lead a cool, free and casual life, is equally or more responsible for causing on-campus sexual assault. TheNew York Times Magazinewriter Peggy Orenstein while discussing about her latest novel,Girls and Sex, stated that the perpetrators of sexual violence as well as the victims, fail to distinguish between casual sex and an act of sexual assault. Often the college students, being quite young, want to experience the unusual things, explore the new things, by resorting to reckless activities, that offer temporary pleasure, and sexual violence is one of them (DeMattio). Hence, the reckless attitude of the youngsters can also be deemed to be an important contributing factor here. Research suggests that 1 out of every 3 people accused of having committed sexual violence in college, have been found to have serious substance abuse issues (Kilmarti et al.). However, the less known fact that should be noted here is that research studies have also suggested that a high percentage of people found to have resorted to substance abuse, have claimed that they had suffered from sexual assault as a child. Hence, the counter-argument here is that just the way substance abuse is claimed to have caused sexual assault in the college campuses, there does not exist a necessarily direct relation between the two variables. Rather on the contrary it has been observed that those who had developed their addiction to certain drugs, had decided to do to push out and numb the awful memories of sexual abuse they experienced as a child (Cllere et al. ). According to a research article published in the Journal of Adolescent Health, The college students who had suffered from sexual abuse, and had decided to relieve the same, by resorting to substance abuse, cannot be expected to commit sexual assault on other people. Hence, substance abuse may not always cause sexual assault, though the latter can cause the former (Heim). To conclude, it should be noted that though substance abuse increases the risk of turning a simple college student into the perpetrator of sexual assault, it may not be the only reason causing the same. The cultural factors, as well as the personal traits of the individual can largely affect his character regardless of the fact that he resorts to drug abuse or not. Reference List: Cleere, Colleen, and Steven Jay Lynn. "Acknowledged versus unacknowledged sexual assault among college women."Journal of interpersonal violence28.12 (2013): 2593-2611. DeMatteo, David, et al. "Sexual assault on college campuses: A 50-state survey of criminal sexual assault statutes and their relevance to campus sexual assault."Psychology, Public Policy, and Law21.3 (2015): 227. Heim, Christine M., et al. "Decreased cortical representation of genital somatosensory field after childhood sexual abuse."American Journal of Psychiatry170.6 (2013): 616-623. Kempe, C. Henry. "Sexual abuse, another hidden pediatric problem: the 1977 C. Anderson Aldrich lecture."C. Henry Kempe: A 50 Year Legacy to the Field of Child Abuse and Neglect. Springer Netherlands, 2013. 179-192. Kilmartin, Christopher, and Alan D. Berkowitz.Sexual assault in context: Teaching college men about gender. Psychology Press, 2014. McCabe, Sean Esteban, et al. "Sexual orientation and substance abuse treatment utilization in the United States: Results from a national survey."Journal of substance abuse treatment44.1 (2013): 4-12. Post, Robert M., et al. "Verbal abuse, like physical and sexual abuse, in childhood is associated with an earlier onset and more difficult course of bipolar disorder."Bipolar disorders17.3 (2015): 323-330.