TY - JOUR
T1 - The effects of alcohol and sexual arousal on determinants of sexual risk in men who have sex with men
AU - Maisto, Stephen A.
AU - Palfai, Tibor
AU - Vanable, Peter A.
AU - Heath, Jessie
AU - Woolf-King, Sarah E.
N1 - Funding Information:
Acknowledgments This research was supported by grants R01 AA14 480 and K05 AA16928 from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
PY - 2012/8
Y1 - 2012/8
N2 - Primarypreventioneffortsaimedatsexual riskbehaviors are critical. This experiment was designed to investigate the effectsofalcoholintoxicationandsexualarousal,aswellasperson 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 were117MSMaged21-50 yearswhowererandomlyassignedto 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 nonerotic or mildlyeroticfilmclips). Participants attended twoexperimental 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 theCARE,a measure of risk perceptions.The dependent variableswere behavioral skills, intentions to have unsafe sex, and "riskexposure, "derivedfromresponsestothevideos.Theresultsof both planned and exploratory analyses showed general support for thehypothesizedenhancementofalcohol'seffectsonsexualriskby both sexual arousal andexpectancies.Also aspredicted, condom attitudes showed direct relationships to risk exposure and intentions. Implications of the findings formodels of alcohol's effects on sexual risk and for the development ofHIV prevention interventions were discussed.
AB - Primarypreventioneffortsaimedatsexual riskbehaviors are critical. This experiment was designed to investigate the effectsofalcoholintoxicationandsexualarousal,aswellasperson 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 were117MSMaged21-50 yearswhowererandomlyassignedto 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 nonerotic or mildlyeroticfilmclips). Participants attended twoexperimental 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 theCARE,a measure of risk perceptions.The dependent variableswere behavioral skills, intentions to have unsafe sex, and "riskexposure, "derivedfromresponsestothevideos.Theresultsof both planned and exploratory analyses showed general support for thehypothesizedenhancementofalcohol'seffectsonsexualriskby both sexual arousal andexpectancies.Also aspredicted, condom attitudes showed direct relationships to risk exposure and intentions. Implications of the findings formodels of alcohol's effects on sexual risk and for the development ofHIV prevention interventions were discussed.
KW - Alcohol
KW - Men who have sex with men
KW - Sexual arousal
KW - Sexual risk
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U2 - 10.1007/s10508-011-9846-x
DO - 10.1007/s10508-011-9846-x
M3 - Article
C2 - 22009480
AN - SCOPUS:84864089870
SN - 0004-0002
VL - 41
SP - 971
EP - 986
JO - Archives of Sexual Behavior
JF - Archives of Sexual Behavior
IS - 4
ER -