The proposal examines the relationship between prior alcohol use and sexual risk-taking among economically disadvantaged people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). Empirical data regarding the theorized relationship between alcohol use and sexual risk-taking have been inconsistent. This proposal seeks to, first, apply an event-level, daily process methodology (Tennen et al., 2000) to this empirical question, in order to overcome limitations of past research (ex. the insensitivity of global association measures to the question of whether the alcohol use occurred prior to a sexual risk act and the issue of retrospection bias with regard to the self-reporting of affective states). Secondly, the proposed research will evaluate the hypothesis that affective states (such as those generated by situational exposure to affect-charged daily events or """"""""affective events"""""""") may induce same-day fluctuations in social-cognitive predictors of sexual risk reduction (such as condom use-related self-efficacy and attitudes) while also increasing level of alcohol consumption; alcohol consumption is also predicted to impact the aforementioned social-cognitive predictors. Thirdly, the proposed research will attempt to consider a range of variables including emotional self-regulation strategies and alcohol outcome expectancies that may either mask the affective-sexual risk behavior relationship or influence the direction of this relationship (in acknowledgement of past research suggesting that affective states can be associated with either self-protective or self-endangering health behavior). The daily process methodology involves collecting within- and between-person data; within-person data will be collected on a """"""""near time"""""""", in vivo basis using a electronic, telephone-based diary via Interactive Voice Response (IVR) technology. The daily survey will continue over a period of 6 weeks and involve a total of 215 PLWHA. Study hypothesizes will be tested using multi-level modeling techniques. Multilevel modeling will also allow statistical tests of measurement reactivity (using growth curve modeling), effects of weekly patterns in alcohol consumption, sexual activity, and affective states, and seasonality.
| Barta, William D; Tennen, Howard; Kiene, Susan M (2010) Alcohol-involved sexual risk behavior among heavy drinkers living with HIV/AIDS: negative affect, self-efficacy, and sexual craving. Psychol Addict Behav 24:563-70 |
| Barta, William D; Portnoy, David B; Kiene, Susan M et al. (2008) A daily process investigation of alcohol-involved sexual risk behavior among economically disadvantaged problem drinkers living with HIV/AIDS. AIDS Behav 12:729-40 |
