Predicting high risk sexual behaviour in heterosexual and homosexual men: the roles of impulsivity and sensation seeking

Impulsivity and sexual sensation seeking were examined as personality correlates of high risk sexual behaviour — unprotected sex with multiple partners — in samples of heterosexual (n=112) and homosexual (n=104) men. Among heterosexuals, both personality variables were associated with frequency of unprotected sex but only sexual sensation seeking was associated with number of sex partners. Sexual sensation seeking also mediated the association between use of drugs other than alcohol and number of sex partners. Among homosexuals, no personality or substance use variables predicted high risk sexual behaviour. Implications of the findings for the study of determinants of sexual risk-taking are discussed.     

The sexual sensation seeking scale: reliability and validity within a heterosexual college student sample

The Sexual Sensation Seeking Scale (SSSS; Kalichman & Rompa, 1995) is a measure of the propensity to seek out novel or risky sexual stimulation. This measure has been consistently related to HIV-risk behavior in several different samples of gay men and with behavioral correlates of sexual permissiveness in college students. Five hundred twenty-eight college students completed the SSSS and several other sexuality and personality measures. The results reveal significant gender differences on the SSSS and similar (although stronger among women) patterns of significant correlations with sexually permissive characteristics and behaviors. Furthermore, SSSS scores were more highly correlated with sexual measures, whereas a more general measure of sensation seeking was more highly correlated with general personality measures. We discuss implications for use of the SSSS by sexuality educators and sex therapists.     

Alcohol, sexual arousal, and intentions to use condoms in young men: applying alcohol myopia theory to risky sexual behavior.

Data from 7 studies were aggregated to examine how reported sexual arousal and alcohol intoxication interact to affect attitudes and intentions toward engaging in unprotected sexual intercourse in college-age men (N = 358). When participants were in a sober or placebo condition, their self-reports of sexual arousal had no effect on their responses. When participants were intoxicated, however, those who felt sexually aroused reported more favorable attitudes, thoughts, and intentions toward having unprotected sex than did those who did not feel aroused. These findings support alcohol myopia theory (C. M. Steele & R. A. Josephs, 1990), which states that alcohol intoxication restricts attentional capacity so that people are highly influenced by the most salient cues in their environment. It is suggested that sexual arousal is a powerful internal cue that interacts with alcohol intoxication to enhance attitudes and intentions toward risky sexual behaviors.     

Alcohol use and serial monogamy as risks for sexually transmitted diseases in young adults.

Alcohol and condom use were assessed using global, situational, and event-level analyses in a sample of young adults (N = 305). Results varied by methodology, event, and partner type; an inverse association between alcohol and condom use was found only at the event level. Participants with strong sex-related expectancies used condoms less frequently when drinking at the time of 1st intercourse with their current partner. For most recent event with a regular partner, alcohol use was unrelated to condom use, but gender, relationship duration, and oral contraceptive use accounted for more than 25% of the variance. Thus, alcohol may increase risky sex early in a relationship, whereas partner familiarity and alternate contraceptive use play a larger role as relationships develop.     

Serious delinquent behavior,sensation seeking,and electrodermal arousal

Low tonic skin conductance level (SCL) has been related, inconsistently, to both delinquency and sensation-seeking. This study tests the hypothesis that there is an interaction such that high sensation seeking delinquents, in particular, have low SCLs. Participants consisted of 335 boys from the Pittsburgh Youth Study classified as serious delinquents or controls based upon 10 years of prospectively collected self-report delinquency data. Participants' skin conductance was evaluated at age 16 along with several personality and neuropsychological measures. Both delinquency and sensation seeking were characterized by low SCL. However, there was no evidence to suggest that the presence of both of these factors together lead to especially low skin conductance levels. This finding is not explained by differences between the groups on measures of negative emotionality, IQ, socioeconomic status, or impulsivity.     

Gender, Internet use, and sexual behavior orientation among young Nigerians.

This study examined the influence of gender and Internet use on the sexual behavior orientation of young adults in Nigeria. Using an ex-post-facto design, data were collected from a total of 231 participants. Results of the hierarchical regression model provided support for the influence of gender and Internet use on sexual behavior orientation among young Nigerians. Further, results also revealed an interaction effect; as the use of the Internet increased, male participants reported a greater extent of risky sexual behavior orientation than their female counterparts. The findings were explained in the context of the theoretical foundations of the study, while practical implications for combating youths' risky sexual behavior orientation were highlighted.     

Alcohol expectancies, alcohol use, and hostility as longitudinal predictors of alcohol-related aggression

The direct and interactive effects of alcohol expectancies for aggression, dispositional hostility, and heavy alcohol consumption on alcohol-related physical aggression were examined across the first four years of marriage in a sample of 634 newlywed couples. For husbands, alcohol aggression expectancies predicted increases in alcohol-related aggression; across husbands and wives, however, aggression expectancies were not found to interact with hostility or alcohol consumption to predict physical aggression. Consistent with previous research, hostility and alcohol consumption interacted with each other to predict alcohol-related aggression. Specifically, for both husbands and wives high in dispositional hostility, heavy alcohol consumption was positively associated with the occurrence of alcohol-related aggression; for those low in dispositional hostility, however, there was no association between alcohol consumption and alcohol-related aggression. Findings are contrasted with previous longitudinal research on alcohol aggression expectancies and physical aggression in married couples. The article discusses the extent to which findings may vary depending on whether expectancies are assessed in relation to alcohol's effect on one's own behavior versus alcohol's effect on others' behavior.     

Alcohol and human sexual behavior.

Despite the potential clinical significance of the relationship between alcohol consumption and human sexual responsiveness. the subject has received little systematic research attention. Clinical observations have suggested that alcohol abuse can lead to impotency disorders in males and sexual dysfunction in women. Alcohol has been associated with sex offences such as rape and pedophilia, increased sexual activity and extramarital affairs. However, correlation has been confused with cause, and unequivocal evidence of alcohol as the causal agent is lacking. Recent research using penile tumescence and vaginal pressure pulse as measures of sexual arousal has shown a significant negative linear relation between alcohol and sexual responsiveness in both men and women social drinkers. Findings that cognitive rather than pharmacological factors decisively influence alcohol's effects on sexual arousal, together with other psychosocial analyses, dispute the disinhibition hypothesis of alcohol's effects. A social learning analysis of alcohol's influence on sex is proposed.     

Demographic influences in sensation seeking and expressions of sensation seeking in religion, smoking and driving habits

A large sample of readers of a popular psychology magazine took the Sensation Seeking Scale (form V) and filled out a personal data form. The information in the data form was used to examine the relationship between SSS scores and demographic and experience variables. Sex and age showed strong relationships with the SSS. Education and occupation of the subjects and their parents showed lesser relationships with the SSS and primarily in females. Non-believers in conventional religion and infrequent church-goers had higher SSS scores than those who identify with such religions and attend church regularly. Smokers had higher scores than non-smokers although the relationship with amount of smoking was not a linear one. Driving habits of speeding related strongly to sensation seeking in a linear fashion.     

Associations between sexual sensation seeking and AIDS-related knowledge,attitudes and behaviors among young men who have sex with men in China

Young men who have sex with men (YMSM) have become high risk groups for HIV infection in China. Recent researches suggest that sexual sensation seeking is significantly associated with AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes and behaviors, but the relationship is not clear in the field of YMSM in China. The present study aimed to evaluate the relationship between sexual sensation seeking and AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors among YMSM in China. A cross-sectional study was conducted in Wuhan, China from May to November 2013. 403 YMSM were recruited and 373 of them completed the questionnaire. Regression analyses indicated that YMSM with high sexual sensation seeking score are more likely to have low awareness of knowledge and negative attitude about condom use, as well as more risky sexual behaviors.     

Implications of Amae for HIV risk in Japanese young adults

Assertiveness, defined as perceived confidence to express true feelings in interpersonal relationships, has been reported to correlate with HIV risk avoidance. However, Japanese social structure encourages amae or self-repression. The present study investigated the implications of amae for HIV risk avoidance among Japanese university students. The results indicated that amae was antithetical to risk reduction.     

Men's media use, sexual cognitions, and sexual risk behavior: testing a mediational model

Efforts to link media use to adolescents' sexual initiation have produced somewhat inconsistent results, perhaps as a result of the limited framing of the question. This study sought to expand current approaches by sampling college students instead of high school students, by investigating a range of sexual behaviors and media formats, and by testing a model that featured sexual cognitions as mediators. We tested our model with a sample of 796 heterosexual, male college students who reported on their regular consumption of 4 media (prime-time TV programs, music videos, movies, and men's magazines); their attitudes toward abstinence, the male sexual role, and nonrelational sex; their perceptions of peer sexual behavior; and several aspects of their sexual behavior (e.g., number of sexual partners). Findings revealed strong support for our mediated model, with exposure to men's magazines and movies contributing most strongly to their sexual cognitions, and with men's cognitions, in turn, contributing heavily to their sexual behavior. Some direct connections from media use to sexual behavior also emerged. Together, the findings provide insight into both potential mechanisms for and new approaches to addressing this issue.     

Internet self-efficacy, the need for cognition, and sensation seeking as predictors of problematic use of the internet

We conducted a study of the relationships between Internet self-efficacy, sensation seeking, the need for cognition, and problematic use of the Internet. The study was based on a randomly selected sample of 979 adult Internet users. Hierarchical multiple regression analysis of these subjects' responses on a questionnaire consisting of relevant items indicated that Internet self-efficacy and sensation seeking positively predicted problematic Internet use. Contrastingly, the need for cognition was significantly negatively associated with problematic Internet use.     

Dating age and stage as correlates of adolescent sexual attitudes and behavior

Dating experiences, especially the type or stage of dating, have consistently been found to be related to premarital sexual behavior. Findings regarding the age at 1st date and sexual behavior have been less consistent. This paper examined the age at which dating began and the type of dating relationship as correlates of premarital sexual attitudes and behavior among mid-teen adolescents. The analyses were based on a sample of high school students (n=836), most of whom were between the ages of 15 and 18 when the surveys were conducted. Early dating, especially early steady dating, was related to permissive attitudes and to premarital sexual experience among both males and females. The relationship between early dating and intercourse experience was particulary strong among Mormons, a religious group which has institutionalized age 16 as the legitimate age to begin dating.     

HIV risk factors,condom use,and HIV antibody testing among heterosexual Hispanics: the National AIDS Behavioral Surveys (NABS)

Although Hispanics comprise only 9% of the US population, they account for 16% of AIDS cases. This study used data from the 4390 heterosexual Hispanics interviewed as part of the 1990-91 National AIDS Behavioral Survey to determine the prevalence and demographic correlates of HIV antibody testing and condom use among Hispanics at risk for HIV. Overall, 16.4% of respondents reported an HIV risk factor, primarily two or more sexual partners in the last 12 months (64%) or a high-risk main sex partner (26%). Those at risk tended to be highly acculturated unmarried males aged 18-29 years of European Spanish, South American, or Caribbean origin, with more than 12 years of education, an annual income under US$10,000, and infrequent church attendance. 35.3% of these high-risk persons had been tested for HIV; male gender and middle-income status were the strongest predictors of testing. Condoms were used at least half the time with a primary partner by 22.4% and with secondary partners by 44.7%, with higher use rates among acculturated Hispanics. The low prevalence of condom use and HIV testing among high-risk Hispanics underscores the need for campaigns that reinforce the acceptability of condom use as a social norm. Because US Hispanics are a heterogeneous group, such campaigns should target specific subgroups, including different national origins and levels of acculturation.     

Biopsychological bases and behavioral correlates of sensation seeking: contributions to a multilevel validation

Zuckerman presented a multilevel approach of sensation seeking comprising a hierarchy of seven levels. He primarily focussed on the levels of psychometric trait, psychophysiology and biochemistry. Because Zuckerman was less concerned with behavioral paradigms and experimental task performance the purpose of our study was to identify and validate behavioral paradigms whose behavioral components can be seen as valid indicators of the trait. But within the multilevel perspective, each paradigm should not only be structured and validated in relation to its psychometric dimension but also with regard to at least one other level and preferably through a within-design.Thirty-two undergraduates (18 female) and graduate students took part in the study. Subjects completed the Sensation Seeking Scale (Form V), the Impulsiveness Venturesomeness Empathy Questionnaire, and the Zuckerman Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire and performed three experimental paradigms: the continuous performance task, delayed reaction time task and the augmenting–reducing paradigm.The classical findings on augmenting–reducing were replicated (correlation between TAS and the N1/P2 slope). On this basis the expected positive correlation between sensation seeking and false alarms on the DRTT as a central parameter of experimental task performance was confirmed. This result is a first step to the validation of this task as a paradigm covering relevant aspects of sensation seeking. In addition, by means of communality analysis, it was shown that there is 8.6% of common variance across all three levels of measurement (psychometric, psychophysiological and experimental task performance). This overlapping variance can be regarded as a core region of a multilevel sensation seeking construct if the parameters for each of the levels of measurement involved are sufficiently validated.