Abstract
This experimental study examined effects of alcohol consumption and sexual sensation seeking on unprotected sex intentions, taking into account sexual arousal, indirectly discouraging sex, and condom insistence. Women (N = 173; mean age = 25.02) were randomly assigned to a control, placebo, low-dose beverage (target blood alcohol level = .04), or high- dose beverage (target blood alcohol level = .08) condition. Participants projected themselves into a hypothetical sexual interaction with a man in which no condom was available. Structural equation modeling demonstrated that both sexual sensation seeking and alcohol dose directly increased sexual arousal early in the interaction, but later sexual arousal indirectly increased unprotected sex intentions by decreasing endorsement of indirect discouragement and, in turn, condom insistence. These findings help to clarify the role of alcohol consumption and sensation seeking in women's sexual decision making and point to the importance of examining it as a multistage process.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 14-22 |
Number of pages | 9 |
Journal | Psychology of Addictive Behaviors |
Volume | 23 |
Issue number | 1 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Mar 2009 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- alcohol consumption
- condom negotiation
- risky sex
- sensation seeking
- sexual arousal
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health