Personality and cognitive factors influencing substance use and sexual risk for HIV infection among gay and bisexual men

Substance use reliably predicts sexual risk behavior, and sensation-seeking personality characteristics have been found to covary with these associations. In a study of 289 gay and bisexual men attending a large gay pride event, the authors examined the role of substance use sexual outcome expectancies in explaining associations between sensation seeking, substance use, and risky sex. Consistent with previous research, alcohol and other drugs were associated with sexual behavior. However, path analyses showed that sensation seeking accounted for variance in sexual behavior over and above substance use before sex and that sensation seeking predicted substance use expectancies that in turn predicted substance use before sex. It was concluded that altering substance use outcome expectancies may be an important strategy for HIV risk reduction for individuals high in sensation seeking.