Does Drinking Promote Risky Sexual Behavior?: A Complex Answer to a Simple Question

Author: Cooper, M. Lynne¹

Source: Current Directions in Psychological Science, Volume 15, Number 1, February 2006 , pp. 19-23(5)

Publisher: Blackwell Publishing

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Abstract:

The present review argues that, popular lore notwithstanding, the well-documented association between usual patterns of alcohol use and risky sex reflects multiple underlying processes that are both causal and noncausal (spurious) in nature. It is further argued that even alcohol's acute causal effects on sexual behavior are more variable than they are commonly assumed to be. Drinking can promote, inhibit, or have no effect on behavior, depending on the interplay of factors governing behavior in a particular situation and the content of individually held beliefs about alcohol's effects.

Keywords: alcohol; risky sex; condom use

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.1111/j.0963-7214.2006.00385.x

Affiliations: 1: University of Missouri–Columbia

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