Abstract
Rates of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV, vary across ethnic minority groups, yet few studies have evaluated sexual risk behaviors and their psychological correlates to determine if risk and protective factors vary by ethnicity. The purpose of the current study was to assess sexual sensation seeking (SSS), sexual inhibition (SIS1 and SIS2), and sexual excitation (SES) as correlates of risky sexual behaviors in 106 (55 male and 51 female) Asian Americans, African Americans, and Caucasian Americans. Results revealed that higher SSS was associated with more vaginal and anal sex partners. Further, the association between SSS and the number of anal sex partners was positive among Asian Americans and Caucasians, but non-significant among African Americans. SIS1 was positively associated with unprotected sex on the first date among Asian Americans and African Americans. However, the association was not significant for Caucasians. SIS2 was negatively associated with general unprotected sex, and SES was positively associated with the number of vaginal sex partners. Findings suggest that ethnicity plays an important moderating role in the relationship between sexual traits and risky sexual behaviors.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported, in part, by the following grants: NIAAA/NIH R01 AA13565-02 and R01 AA016281-01 A2 to William H. George, 1T06SM60563-38 to Hong V. Nguyen, and 1F31AA018237-01A1 to Kelly H. Koo. This article was awarded the Outstanding Student Paper Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality International Conference, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico (2009).
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Nguyen, H.V., Koo, K.H., Davis, K.C. et al. Risky Sex: Interactions Among Ethnicity, Sexual Sensation Seeking, Sexual Inhibition, and Sexual Excitation. Arch Sex Behav 41, 1231–1239 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9904-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9904-z