Lecture Notes

The belief that alcohol and sex go together, although not new, is certainly reinforced by popular culture.

It is well known that alcohol use among college students is very common. In highly charged sexual situations, intoxication has been reported to increase drinkers' willingness to engage in unprotected intercourse by fostering their belief that they are aroused.

Alcohol use has also been found to be associated with numerous dangerous consequences such as unwanted sexual intercourse and sexual violence. The disinhibiting effect of alcohol allows people to justify various actions that they would not engage in sober. Alcohol use is often a significant factor in sexual violence of all types.

Drinking alcohol has long been assumed in both the scientific and popular literature to lead to sexual risk taking. However, alcohol use among young people is just one component of an overall risk behavior pattern and not the cause of sexual risk behavior. Additionally, impulsivity/sensation seeking, sociability, and usual drinking pattern provide a broader explanation for sexual risk taking than acute alcohol effects.

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