The role of alcohol use during sexual situations in the relationship between sexual revictimization and women's intentions to engage in unprotected sex

Research has demonstrated relationships among childhood sexual abuse, adult sexual assault, and sexual risk taking. This study proposes that one mechanism through which the victimization-sexual risk-taking relationship works is through an increased likelihood of drinking during sexual situations. Using path analysis, this study explores this hypothesis in a sample of 230 women. The model illustrates that women with a history of child and adult sexual victimization reported greater intentions to engage in unprotected sex and that this relationship is in part accounted for by an increased likelihood of drinking in sexual situations. The results suggest that sexual risk reduction programs and sexual assault treatment programs should educate women about the alcohol-involved sexual risk taking that often follows sexual assault victimization.