The proposed F31 represents a first step in a research trajectory focused on the complex relationshipsbetween gender, sexuality and substance use/abuse. Specifically, this project is designed to examinewomen's use of alcohol prior to sexual activity to discern the motivations for use and the negativeconsequences of this combination, especially for HIV and other sexual risks. The proposed project willutilize a mixed-method design in a sample of young adult women (ages 18-29) who frequent NYC clubs toappropriately address the following specific aims:
Aim #1 : To examine individual predictors of and factorsassociated with the use of alcohol prior to sexual activity;
Aim #2 : To examine the various consequences(unprotected sex, non-consensual sex, negative psychological impacts) of the combination of alcohol andsex;
Aim #3 : To explicate the moderating role of context in the relationship between alcohol consumptionand sexual behavior, especially risky sexual behavior;
Aim #4 : To understand the role of gendered sexualnorms in the relationship between alcohol consumption and sexual behavior;
Aim #5 : To examine the role ofassociating alcohol with sex in determining overall drinking patterns, especially problem drinking behaviors.To address these aims, this project will utilize both qualitative and quantitative data from 100 young women(ages 18-29). Specifically, the current project measures several psychological, psychosocial, anddemographic variables, as well as detailed narratives relating women's most recent experiences of sexualactivity while sober and while under the influence of alcohol, including information about the context in whichthe behavior occurred and the sexual risk involved in the situation. Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method analyses will be used to answer the research questions that follow from these specific aims. Thisstudy will begin to fill key gaps in both the HIV prevention and alcohol use/abuse literatures in explicating thefactors that influence sexual risk as well as sexual factors that may precipitate alcohol abuse among women,an often neglected group in both literatures. Critical knowledge generated about the social, individual, andcontextual risk factors for sexual risk and alcohol abuse among women will inform future research and setthe stage for future prevention and intervention efforts.
