%0 Journal Article %J Addiction %D 2012 %T Co-occurrence of sexual risk behaviors and substance use across emerging adulthood: evidence for state- and trait-level associations. %A King, Kevin M %A Nguyen, Hong V %A Kosterman, Rick %A Bailey, Jennifer A %A Hawkins, J D %K Adult %K Alcohol-Related Disorders %K Female %K Humans %K Male %K Risk-Taking %K Substance-Related Disorders %K Time Factors %K Unsafe Sex %K Young Adult %X

AIMS:   Prior research has suggested that problematic alcohol and drug use are related to risky sexual behaviors, either due to trait-level associations driven by shared risk factors such as sensation seeking or by state-specific effects, such as the direct effects of substance use on sexual behaviors. Although the prevalence of both high-risk sexual activity and alcohol problems decline with age, little is known about how the associations between substance use disorder symptoms and high-risk sexual behaviors change across young adulthood.

DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS:   Using a community sample (n = 790) interviewed every 3 years from age 21 to age 30 years, we tested trait- and state-level associations among symptoms of alcohol and drug abuse and dependence and high-risk sexual behaviors across young adulthood using latent growth curve models.

MEASUREMENTS:   We utilized diagnostic interviews to obtain self-report of past-year drug and alcohol abuse and dependence symptoms. High-risk sexual behaviors were assessed with a composite of four self-reported behaviors.

FINDINGS:   Results showed time-specific associations between alcohol disorder symptoms and risky sexual behaviors (r = 0.195, P < 0.001), but not associations between their trajectories of change. Conversely, risky sexual behaviors and drug disorder symptoms were associated only at the trait level, not the state level, such that the levels and rate of change over time of both were correlated (r = 0.35, P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS:   High-risk sexual behaviors during young adulthood seem to be driven both by trait and state factors, and intervention efforts may be successful if they are either aimed at high-risk individuals or if they work to disaggregate alcohol use from risky sexual activities.

%B Addiction %V 107 %P 1288-96 %8 2012 Jul %G eng %N 7 %R 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2012.03792.x %0 Journal Article %J Arch Sex Behav %D 2012 %T Risky sex: interactions among ethnicity, sexual sensation seeking, sexual inhibition, and sexual excitation. %A Nguyen, Hong V %A Koo, Kelly H %A Davis, Kelly Cue %A Otto, Jacqueline M %A Hendershot, Christian S %A Schacht, Rebecca L %A George, William H %A Heiman, Julia R %A Norris, Jeanette %K Adult %K African Americans %K Asian Americans %K Condoms %K Ethnic Groups %K European Continental Ancestry Group %K Female %K HIV Infections %K Humans %K Male %K Risk Factors %K Sexual Behavior %K Sexuality %K Sexually Transmitted Diseases %K United States %K Unsafe Sex %X

Rates of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, vary across ethnic minority groups, yet few studies have evaluated sexual risk behaviors and their psychological correlates to determine if risk and protective factors vary by ethnicity. The purpose of the current study was to assess sexual sensation seeking (SSS), sexual inhibition (SIS1 and SIS2), and sexual excitation (SES) as correlates of risky sexual behaviors in 106 (55 male and 51 female) Asian Americans, African Americans, and Caucasian Americans. Results revealed that higher SSS was associated with more vaginal and anal sex partners. Further, the association between SSS and the number of anal sex partners was positive among Asian Americans and Caucasians, but non-significant among African Americans. SIS1 was positively associated with unprotected sex on the first date among Asian Americans and African Americans. However, the association was not significant for Caucasians. SIS2 was negatively associated with general unprotected sex, and SES was positively associated with the number of vaginal sex partners. Findings suggest that ethnicity plays an important moderating role in the relationship between sexual traits and risky sexual behaviors.

%B Arch Sex Behav %V 41 %P 1231-9 %8 2012 Oct %G eng %N 5 %R 10.1007/s10508-012-9904-z