Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) affects more than on million people in the United States today. Because no effective cure or vaccination is imminent, the most effective measure available to fight the spread of AIDS is public education. However, development of effective prevention programs requires and understanding of the mechanisms underlying high-risk behaviors. We propose to examine the role of alcohol sue as a factor contributing to high-risk sexual behavior among adolescents (a group at elevated risk for AIDS) and to investigate factors promoting alcohol use in social situations likely to lead to sexual encounters. A theoretical model is presented that links alcohol use in social and sexual situations to increased likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors. Hypothetically, adolescents drink in social/sexual situations either to cope with negative emotion or to enhance positive emotion. In turn, drinking for coping and enhancement motive are hypothesized to reflect different underlying etiologic processes. Preliminary studies conducted with college and adult community samples support key aspects of the model. A cross-sectional survey is proposed to investigate alcohol use in relation to high-risk sexual behaviors in a stratified (race and sex) random sample of 2000 adolescents in Buffalo, NY. Face-to- face interviews will be conducted in a central site by trained same-sex interviewers. A situation-specific measurement strategy is proposed in which the following key constructs are assessed: (1) high-risk sexual behaviors, (2) alcohol use in social/sexual situation, (3) drinking motives and alcohol expectancies, (4) perceived threat in social/sexual situations, and (5) psychosocial and personality variables theoretically related to perceived threat in social and sexual situations. The proposed research has important implications for understanding the contributions of alcohol use in social and sexual situations to subsequent high-risk sexual behaviors, and for elucidating the determinants of drinking in the situations. To the extent that high-risk sexual behaviors are promoted by alcohol use in social and sexual situations, and understanding of processes underlying drinking in these situations will provide and important basis for developing specific and focused intervention strategies. The emphasis on distinguishing motives for drinking in these situations may lead to the development of programs targeted for specific high- risk subgroups for whom effective behavior change strategies may differ.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01AA008047-03
Application #
3111969
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (SRCA (72))
Project Start
1988-09-29
Project End
1992-08-31
Budget Start
1990-09-01
Budget End
1992-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
1990
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
State University of New York at Buffalo
Department
Type
Schools of Dentistry
DUNS #
038633251
City
Buffalo
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14260
Levitt, Ash; Cooper, M Lynne (2015) Should Parents Allow Their Adolescent Children to Drink at Home? Family Factors as Predictors of Alcohol Involvement Trajectories Over 15 Years. J Stud Alcohol Drugs 76:661-70
O'Hara, Ross E; Cooper, M Lynne (2015) Bidirectional associations between alcohol use and sexual risk-taking behavior from adolescence into young adulthood. Arch Sex Behav 44:857-71
Levitt, Ash; Cooper, M Lynne (2010) Daily alcohol use and romantic relationship functioning: evidence of bidirectional, gender-, and context-specific effects. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 36:1706-22
Cooper, M Lynne (2010) Toward a person x situation model of sexual risk-taking behaviors: illuminating the conditional effects of traits across sexual situations and relationship contexts. J Pers Soc Psychol 98:319-41
Cooper, M Lynne; Krull, Jennifer L; Agocha, V Bede et al. (2008) Motivational pathways to alcohol use and abuse among Black and White adolescents. J Abnorm Psychol 117:485-501
Sheldon, Kennon M; Cooper, M Lynne (2008) Goal striving within agentic and communal roles: separate but functionally similar pathways to enhanced well-being. J Pers 76:415-48
Sheldon, Melanie Skaggs; Cooper, M Lynne; Geary, David C et al. (2006) Fertility cycle patterns in motives for sexual behavior. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 32:1659-73
Orcutt, Holly K; Cooper, M Lynne; Garcia, Marilyn (2005) Use of sexual intercourse to reduce negative affect as a prospective mediator of sexual revictimization. J Trauma Stress 18:729-39
Cooper, M Lynne; Wood, Phillip K; Orcutt, Holly K et al. (2003) Personality and the predisposition to engage in risky or problem behaviors during adolescence. J Pers Soc Psychol 84:390-410
Cooper, M Lynne; Sheldon, Melanie Skaggs (2002) Seventy years of research on personality and close relationships: substantive and methodological trends over time. J Pers 70:783-812

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