Abstract
Risky sexual behaviors, including the decision to have unprotected sex, result from interactions between individuals and their
environment. The current study explored the use of Agent-Based Modeling (ABM)—a methodological approach in which computer-generated
artificial societies simulate human sexual networks—to assess the influence of heterogeneity of sexual motivation on the risk
of contracting HIV. The models successfully simulated some characteristics of human sexual systems, such as the relationship
between individual differences in sexual motivation (sexual excitation and inhibition) and sexual risk, but failed to reproduce
the scale-free distribution of number of partners observed in the real world. ABM has the potential to inform intervention
strategies that target the interaction between an individual and his or her social environment.
environment. The current study explored the use of Agent-Based Modeling (ABM)—a methodological approach in which computer-generated
artificial societies simulate human sexual networks—to assess the influence of heterogeneity of sexual motivation on the risk
of contracting HIV. The models successfully simulated some characteristics of human sexual systems, such as the relationship
between individual differences in sexual motivation (sexual excitation and inhibition) and sexual risk, but failed to reproduce
the scale-free distribution of number of partners observed in the real world. ABM has the potential to inform intervention
strategies that target the interaction between an individual and his or her social environment.
- Content Type Journal Article
- Category Original Paper
- Pages 1-12
- DOI 10.1007/s10508-011-9867-5
- Authors
- Emily Nagoski, Student Affairs, Smith College, Northampton, MA, USA
- Erick Janssen, Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction, Indiana University, Morrison Hall 313, 1165 East Third Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-2501, USA
- David Lohrmann, Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Eric Nichols, Department of Computer Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
- Journal Archives of Sexual Behavior
- Online ISSN 1573-2800
- Print ISSN 0004-0002