%0 Journal Article %J Arch Sex Behav %D 2013 %T Influences of situational factors and alcohol expectancies on sexual desire and arousal among heavy-episodic drinking women: acute alcohol intoxication and condom availability. %A Gilmore, Amanda K %A George, William H %A Nguyen, Hong V %A Heiman, Julia R %A Davis, Kelly Cue %A Norris, Jeanette %K Adult %K Alcoholic Intoxication %K Arousal %K Binge Drinking %K Condoms %K Decision Making %K Ethanol %K Female %K Humans %K Libido %K Sexual Behavior %K Social Environment %K Unsafe Sex %X

Although studies suggest that alcohol increases women's sexual desire, no studies to our knowledge have examined the effects of acute alcohol intoxication on women's sexual desire. The majority of research examining alcohol's effects on sexual arousal in women suggests that alcohol increases self-reported arousal. In an alcohol administration study in which women projected themselves into an eroticized scenario depicting a consensual sexual encounter with a new male partner, we examined the effects of alcohol and condom condition on women's sexual desire and arousal. The moderating effects of sex-related alcohol expectancies were also examined. Results revealed that alcohol intoxication was related to less desire to engage in sex with a new partner and condom presence was related to more desire. Alcohol interacted with sexual disinhibition alcohol expectancies, indicating that more expectancy endorsement was associated with greater sexual desire and self-reported arousal in the alcohol condition, but not the control condition. Condom condition had no effect on self-reported sexual arousal. The present research suggests that sexual desire merits research attention in non-clinical samples, and experimental methodology can provide valuable information about alcohol's influence on women's sexual desire, thus advancing our understanding of this relationship beyond cross-sectional correlations. The current findings also provide evidence that sex-related alcohol expectancies may play an important role in alcohol-involved sexual experiences including desire and arousal.

%B Arch Sex Behav %V 42 %P 949-59 %8 2013 Aug %G eng %N 6 %R 10.1007/s10508-013-0109-x %0 Journal Article %J Exp Clin Psychopharmacol %D 2011 %T The effects of acute alcohol intoxication, partner risk level, and general intention to have unprotected sex on women's sexual decision making with a new partner. %A Purdie, Michele Parkhill %A Norris, Jeanette %A Davis, Kelly Cue %A Zawacki, Tina %A Morrison, Diane M %A George, William H %A Kiekel, Preston A %K Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome %K Adult %K Alcohol Drinking %K Alcoholic Intoxication %K Alcoholism %K Breath Tests %K Central Nervous System Depressants %K Cognition %K Computers %K Condoms %K Decision Making %K Dose-Response Relationship, Drug %K Ethanol %K Female %K HIV Infections %K Humans %K Intention %K Models, Psychological %K Risk %K Risk-Taking %K Sexual Behavior %K Sexual Partners %K Software %K Unsafe Sex %K Young Adult %X

Women account for a quarter of all new HIV/AIDS cases, with approximately 65% having contracted the infection via heterosexual contact. Few experimental studies have examined interactions among background, partner, and situational characteristics in predicting women's sexual decisions. The Cognitive Mediation Model provides a useful theoretical framework for assessing likelihood of unprotected sex. Female social drinkers (n = 230) who had answered questions related to their general intention to have unprotected sex were randomly assigned to an experimental condition based on partner risk level (unknown, low, high) and beverage (control, placebo, low dose, high dose). Participants projected themselves into a story depicting a sexual situation with a man and answered questions about their cognitive appraisals, assertive condom request, and likelihood of unprotected sex. Alcohol effects on appraisal of sexual potential differed by partner risk condition. In the unknown and low risk conditions, placebo and alcohol participants appraised the situation as having greater sexual potential than controls whereas in the high risk condition, only those who consumed alcohol did so. Sexual potential appraisals in turn predicted impelling cognitions about having sex, which in turn predicted assertive condom request and unprotected sex intentions. General intention for unprotected sex independently predicted cognitive appraisals and outcomes. These findings highlight the need for prevention programs that focus on teaching women how to pay attention and consider sexual risk cues presented by potential partners, particularly when under the influence of alcohol.

%B Exp Clin Psychopharmacol %V 19 %P 378-88 %8 2011 Oct %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1037/a0024792