1. Is the availability of sex chat group and other sexual material on the internet psychologically healthy or damaging?
Comer (2011) portrays the internet as awash in sexual material that is virtually unavoidable. This material once exposed to the children is harmful. Pornographic material on the internet is the major cause of social problems such as rape and child abuse. According to Comer (2011), sex crimes correlates with the exposure or pornographic material on the internet. Sex offenders such as the pedophiles consume much sexual material. The people that are predisposed to exploit others sexually seek pornographic pleasure. Clinicians express concern concerning the harmful effects of sexual material on the internet. Comer (2011)
Argues that exposure to the internet content causes harm in the long-term due to a change in the people’s attitude. After exposure, some are upset due to exposure of explicit content that causes harm in their lives.
Psychological evidence claims that pornography is the cause of sex related crimes that are harmful in the society. The people that advocate for greater regulation on sexual content on the internet suggest that this exposure be harmful to people in the society. Sexual material has the attributes of causing harm upon exposure to the public. Available studies demonstrate pornography as a tool to reinforce of aggressive behavior and bias towards women. Sexual material causes negative psychological effects and this necessitates regulation.
Molestation of children emanates from the pornographic material on the internet. The availability of sexual material causes psychological, moral, and developmental harm to the viewers of such content.
Comer (2011) observes that sexual explicit material appearing on the internet is inaccurate and harmful. Some of the scenes depict violence and can often form improper ideas concerning human sexuality. Sexual explicit material on the internet encourages sexual acts with no emotional connection.
2. Does the failure to participate in sex surveys disrupt sex researchers?
Largely, sexual activity is a private activity with varying degrees of cultural, social, religious, and moral norms and limitations. The main challenge of all sex survey research is the ability to generate unbiased data that adopts precise measures of participants’ behavior patterns. Comer (2011) finds that participants are unwilling to divulge private matter that they regard as sensitive. Researches face a hard task in locating different sexual groups such as the LGBT to perform empirical research on the group. It is exceptionally rare to come across population composed of homosexuals and commercial sex workers. It makes the research work become expensive and challenging.
Comer (2011) finds that researchers face the challenge of measurement error in the sexual behavior survey research. The sampling procedures often rely on volunteer sample that does not meet the threshold representation of the demographic. Researchers come across volunteers who are sensual seekers with experience and relaxed attitude towards sex instead of relying on a random sample. The use of a random sample may fail to satisfy all groups under the research whose behavior can differ from the general population.
According to Comer (2011), sexual behavior surveys generate skepticism. The survey of this sensitive issue tends to have participation bias as respondents decline in the interviews so as to investigate the sexual behavior. The random population surveys have a likelihood of males that portray low education attainment from many community health surveys conducted. Comer (2011) notes that people refuse to divulge information that seeks to investigate sexual attitudes. The survey non-response becomes difficult as the participation from the public declines. Researches adopt high literacy methods that exclude some groups who are unable to speak in the appropriate language. Researchers face challenges in ensuring a response rate of more than 80 percent to achieve a quality study.
3. Why does the schizophrenia experience mistreatment more than any other disorder?
Since the 1950s, the medical treatment to address schizophrenia has improved while most of the victims of this condition face discrimination from the society (Comer, 2011). The bias that centers on this illness comes from the inside of a person and the external community. A person can experience discrimination due to negative experiences with the management upon rejection of the application or self-propelled anxiety. The stigma of schizophrenia remains a major problem to people with mental disorders. Part of the media helps to fuel this form of discrimination since it depicts this condition as dangerous.
Schizophrenia victims feel stigmatized since the mental health legislation exacerbates feelings of exclusion such as hyper-salvation that singles out these particular people like different. The health professionals treat this problem lightly unlike other mental disorders (Comer, 2011). In this light, the clinical fraternity can contribute to the stigma of schizophrenia. Society coins names for victims of this disease such as psychotic. It means that the victim has been taken over by the disease and is no longer a civilized person. A victim of schizophrenia encounters social difficulties that compete with the stimuli of positive symptoms. It makes a conversation difficult with the people unaware of schizophrenia and its recovery process.
Victims feel isolated since they are aware that other people don share in their delusions or hallucinations. Victims can also discriminate own group. The public has an automatic stereotyping associated with the shame of mental illness and a forged attitude toward stigmatized people. Schizophrenia victims suffer a burden of stigma from the public. This condition can pave the way to the negative attitude of one’s group leading to self-stigma. It creates enormous pain to the person with a mental illness for it tends to undermine vocational functioning. Automatic stereotypes trigger emotional reactions such as anger to schizophrenia victims.
4. Should pharmaceutical companies have control over cost and distribution of drugs?
Pharmaceutical companies often place the rising cost of medicine beyond the reach of many people who cannot access the essential drugs. The price of a patent medicine exceeds the marginal cost of production. Comer (2011) cites that pharmaceutical companies often claim that the high price is a form of compensation towards development costs and innovation. Innovative products from the pharmaceutical industry improve the outlook for the patients having different disorders. Drug manufacturers achieve success after making discoveries in the healthcare.
Comer (2011) criticizes pharmaceutical companies due to their failure to make drugs affordable to all people in the country. The pharmaceutical industry has managed to maintain high profit margins compared to other industries. World Health Organization maintains a list of 325 drugs that should be available in low prices over the international market (Comer, 2011). Drug companies often refuse to market products that can ensure the saving of lives at the tropics. The pharmaceutical industry profits at the expense of the poor countries that are in need of the essential drugs.
The WTO intellectual rights give exclusive rights to the pharmaceutical companies to manufacture the patent drugs while the poor cannot produce their own generic versions due to the threats of trade sanctions. United States prevent poor countries from producing generic drugs at a low cost. The American administration does not poor countries concession to produce their own essential drugs. The pharmaceutical industry free reign is unacceptable. The international market has to enforce new clinical trials and respect other organizations. The pharmaceutical industry must improve access of drugs in the developing world.
References
Comer, R. J. (2011). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology (6th ed.). New York: W.H. Freeman and Co..