A sexual network is a
social network
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...
that is defined by the sexual relationships within a set of individuals.
Studies and discoveries
Like other forms of social networks, sexual networks can be formally studied using the mathematics of
graph theory
In mathematics, graph theory is the study of ''graphs'', which are mathematical structures used to model pairwise relations between objects. A graph in this context is made up of '' vertices'' (also called ''nodes'' or ''points'') which are conn ...
and
network theory.
Recent
epidemiological
Epidemiology is the study and analysis of the distribution (who, when, and where), patterns and determinants of health and disease conditions in a defined population.
It is a cornerstone of public health, and shapes policy decisions and evidenc ...
studies
have investigated sexual networks, and suggest that the statistical properties of sexual networks are crucial to the spread of
sexually transmitted disease
Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), also referred to as sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the older term venereal diseases, are infections that are spread by sexual activity, especially vaginal intercourse, anal sex, and oral ...
s (STDs). Sub-graphs, both large and small, can be defined within the overall sexual network graph; for example, people who frequent particular bars or clubs, belong to a particular ethnic group or take part in a particular type of sexual activity, or are part of a particular outbreak of an STD. In particular,
assortative mixing In the study of complex networks, assortative mixing, or assortativity, is a bias in favor of connections between network nodes with similar characteristics. In the specific case of social networks, assortative mixing is also known as homophily. ...
between people with large numbers of sexual partners seems to be an important factor in the spread of STD.
In a surprising result, mathematical models predict that the sexual network graph for the human race appears to have a single
giant component
In network theory, a giant component is a connected component of a given random graph that contains a finite fraction of the entire graph's vertices.
Giant component in Erdős–Rényi model
Giant components are a prominent feature of the ErdÅ ...
that indirectly links almost all people who have had more than one sexual partner, and a great many of those who have had only one sexual partner (if their one sexual partner was themselves part of the giant component). .
For more detailed epidemiological work, the time sequence of sexual contacts is important.
See also
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Bugchasing
Bugchasing (alternatively bug chasing) is the rare practice of intentionally seeking human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection through sexual activity.
Bugchasers—those who eroticize HIV—constitute a subculture of barebackers, men who ...
*
Contact tracing
In public health, contact tracing is the process of identifying persons who may have been exposed to an infected person ("contacts") and subsequent collection of further data to assess transmission. By tracing the contacts of infected individua ...
*
Small world experiment
The small-world experiment comprised several experiments conducted by Stanley Milgram and other researchers examining the average path length for social networks of people in the United States. The research was groundbreaking in that it suggest ...
*
Social network
A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods for ...
*
Transmission risks and rates
Transmission of an infection requires three conditions:
*an infectious individual
*a susceptible individual
*an effective contact between them
An effective contact is defined as any kind of contact between two individuals such that, if one individ ...
References
Further reading
* M Kretzschmar.
Sexual network structure and sexually transmitted disease prevention: a modeling perspective. ''Sexually Transmitted Diseases'' volume 27, number 10 (November 2000): pages 627– 35.
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* L E C Rocha, F Liljeros and P Holm
Information dynamics shape the sexual networks of Internet-mediated prostitution ''Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences'' free online (March 2010).
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*Nyanzi, S., Nyanzi, B., Kalina, B., & Pool, R. (n.d)
Mobility, sexual networks and exchange among bodabodamen in southwest Uganda Taylor & Francis Ltd. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
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External links
Patterns of prostitution captured in social network
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sexual Network
Social networks
Epidemiology
Sexuality and society
Sexual health