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The Effects of Alcohol and Sexual Arousal on Determinants of Sexual Risk in Men Who Have Sex with Men

Abstract  

Primary prevention efforts aimed at sexual risk behaviors are critical. This experiment was designed to investigate the effects
of alcohol intoxication and sexual arousal, as well as person variables of alcohol sex expectancies and attitudes toward condom
use, on hypothesized determinants of sexual risk behaviors among men who have sex with men (MSM). The participants were 117
MSM aged 21–50 years who were randomly assigned to one of six separate experimental conditions created by the combination
of beverage administration (water control, placebo or alcohol designed to raise blood alcohol level to .07%) and sexual arousal
(low or high, manipulated by participants’ viewing non-erotic or mildly erotic film clips). Participants attended two experimental
sessions. The first session included completing questionnaires about beliefs about alcohol’s effects on sex and attitudes
toward condoms’ effect on sexual pleasure. The second session involved the beverage condition and arousal manipulations. Following
these, participants viewed and responded to two interactive videos depicting high sexual risk scenarios. Participants also
completed the CARE, a measure of risk perceptions. The dependent variables were behavioral skills, intentions to have unsafe
sex, and “risk exposure,” derived from responses to the videos. The results of both planned and exploratory analyses showed
general support for the hypothesized enhancement of alcohol’s effects on sexual risk by both sexual arousal and expectancies.
Also as predicted, condom attitudes showed direct relationships to risk exposure and intentions. Implications of the findings
for models of alcohol’s effects on sexual risk and for the development of HIV prevention interventions were discussed.

  • Content Type Journal Article
  • Category Original Paper
  • Pages 1-16
  • DOI 10.1007/s10508-011-9846-x
  • Authors
    • Stephen A. Maisto, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
    • Tibor Palfai, Department of Psychology, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
    • Peter A. Vanable, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
    • Jessie Heath, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
    • Sarah E. Woolf-King, Department of Psychology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY 13244, USA
    • Journal Archives of Sexual Behavior
    • Online ISSN 1573-2800
    • Print ISSN 0004-0002
Posted in: Journal Article Abstracts on 11/18/2011 | Link to this post on IFP |
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