Nigel Dickson, MD Biography
- Title:
- Director & Researcher of the AIDS Epidemiology Group at the Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago Medical School in Dunedin
- Position:
- Not Clearly Pro or Con to the question "Is Sexual Orientation Determined at Birth?"
- Reasoning:
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“These findings show that much same-sex attraction is not exclusive and is unstable in early adulthood, especially among women. The proportion of women reporting some same-sex attraction in New Zealand is high compared both to men, and to women in the UK and US.
These observations, along with the variation with education, are consistent with a large role for the social environment in the acknowledgement of same-sex attraction. The smaller group with major same-sex attraction, which changed less over time, and did not differ by education, is consistent with a basic biological dimension to sexual attraction.
Overall these findings argue against any single explanation for homosexual attraction.”
“Same-Sex Attraction in a Birth Cohort: Prevalence and Persistence in Early Adulthood,” Social Science & Medicine, Apr. 2003
- Theoretical Expertise Ranking:
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Key Experts
MD's and PhD's in psychology, with significant post-doctorate involvement in human sexuality issues. [Note: Key Experts definition varies by sites that have this designation.] - Involvement and Affiliations:
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- Director and Researcher, AIDS Epidemiology Group, Department of Preventive and Social Medicine at the University of Otago Medical School in Dunedin, 1990-present
- Senior Lecturer & Co-Director of the New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit at the University of Otago Medical School in Dunedin
- Principal Investigator in Sexual and Reproductive Health in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study
- Specialist Paediatrician, New Zealand, 1983-present
- Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine (FAFPHM), 1994
- Member of the Royal College of Physicians (MRCP)
- Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians (FRACP)
- Education:
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- Postgraduate Training, Epidemiology, London, 1986
- MD, School unknown, 1975
- MB, (Bachelor of Medicine), School unknown
- BS, School unknown
- Other:
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- Research interests:
- National surveillance of HIV infection and AIDS, through the notification process of AIDS, voluntary reporting of HIV infection, and special prevalence surveys of HIV infection.
- Studies of sexual and reproductive health among the cohort enrolled in the Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Study.
- Surveillance of uncommon childhood conditions through the New Zealand Paediatric Surveillance Unit.
- Quoted in: