Hoffman V, Bolton R; International Conference on AIDS.
Int Conf AIDS. 1993 Jun 6-11; 9: 728 (abstract no. PO-C20-3068).
Center for AIDS Prevention Studies (CAPS), U. of California, San Francisco.
OBJECTIVES: To describe motivations for engaging in sex among heterosexual men and the relationship between these motivations and sexual risk-taking. METHODS: Respondents were 146 heterosexual men recruited at public STD clinics in California. Participants completed a questionnaire that assessed frequency (on a 5-pt. scale) of engaging in sex for each of 16 reasons and participation (on a 5-pt scale) in 15 high, moderate, and low-risk sexual practices. Principal components analysis (PCA) identified five factors that were used to construct scales. Scales were correlated with each of 15 sexual practices. RESULTS: Respondents were African American (44%), Anglo (36%), and Latino (15%): mean age was 30, and 74% had an STD diagnosis. Motivation items with highest means were "to please a partner," "have fun," "express love," and "to feel close." The PCA derived five factors with Eigenvalues above 1.0 that explained 60% of the variance. Factors were labeled: Love, Compliance, Pleasure, Altered States, and Potency. Love correlated significantly with kissing (r = .25*). French kissing (r = .30**), cunnilingus (r = .30**), and being masturbated by a partner (r = .30**). Pleasure was associated with vaginal sex without a condom (r = .26*), anal sex with and without a condom (r = .27*, r = .37**), fellatio (r = .31**), masturbating a partner (r = .23*), and semen ingestion by partner (r = .25*). Potency correlated with anal sex with and without a condom (r = .26*, .25*), semen ingestion by partner (r = .25*), and fellatio (r = .26*). Compliance and Altered States scales did not significantly correlate with sexual practices [Significance: *p < .01, **p < .001]. CONCLUSIONS: The complexity of sexual motivations may influence sexual risk-taking. Interventions to reduce unsafe sex among STD clinic attendees will need to explicitly address how people can have safe sex and still experience pleasure and potency.
Publication Types:
Keywords:
- African Americans
- Attitude
- California
- Condoms
- Female
- Humans
- Male
- Motivation
- Questionnaires
- Risk-Taking
- Safe Sex
- Sexual Behavior
- Unsafe Sex
Other ID:
UI: 102206367
From Meeting Abstracts