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. 2009 Aug;38(4):498-513.
doi: 10.1007/s10508-008-9346-9. Epub 2008 Apr 23.

Indirect effects of acute alcohol intoxication on sexual risk-taking: The roles of subjective and physiological sexual arousal

William H George  1 , Kelly Cue Davis, Jeanette Norris, Julia R Heiman, Susan A Stoner, Rebecca L Schacht, Christian S Hendershot, Kelly F Kajumulo
Affiliations

Indirect effects of acute alcohol intoxication on sexual risk-taking: The roles of subjective and physiological sexual arousal

William H George et al. Arch Sex Behav. 2009 Aug.

Abstract

Three experiments supported the idea that alcohol fosters sexual risk-taking in men and women, in part, through its effects on sexual arousal. In Experiment 1, increasing alcohol dosage (target blood alcohol levels of .00, .04, .08%) heightened men's and women's risk-taking intentions. Alcohol's effect was indirect via increased subjective sexual arousal; also, men exhibited greater risk-taking than women. In Experiment 2, an extended dosage range (target blood alcohol levels of .00, .06, .08, .10%) heightened men's risk-taking intentions. Alcohol's effect again was indirect via subjective arousal. Physiological sexual arousal, which was unaffected by alcohol, increased risk-taking via increased subjective arousal. In Experiment 3, alcohol increased women's risk-taking indirectly via subjective arousal, but alcohol-attenuated physiological arousal had no effect on risk-taking. Implications for alcohol myopia theory and prevention interventions are discussed.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Path model from Experiment 1. All paths that are shown were tested; only those in bold were significant. * p < .05, ** p < .01.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Men (Experiment 2) and women’s (Experiment 3) physiological and subjective arousal to the neutral stimulus and to the risky sex vignette stimulus. Subjective arousal (columns) is plotted on the center Y-axis. Men’s physiological arousal (solid line) is plotted on the left Y-axis. Women’s physiological arousal (dashed line) is plotted on the right Y-axis.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Path model from Experiment 2. All paths that are shown were tested; only those in bold were significant. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Path model from Experiment 3. . All paths that are shown were tested; only those in bold were significant. * p < .05, ** p < .01, *** p < .001
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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