Attitudes, Emotions, and Emotion Regulation as Underlying and In-The-Moment Predictors of Men's Intentions to Perpetrate Sexual Assault: An Application of the I3 Model

Sexual assault is a significant problem among young men, and several underlying and in-the-moment factors are associated with this behavior. However, research has not examined how underlying factors may influence men's in-the-moment use of emotion regulation (ER) strategies, emotional experience during sexual situations, or intentions to perpetrate sexual assault. 187 young, single men from the United States who had sex with a woman in the past year completed questionnaires, projected themselves into hypothetical sexual scenarios, and indicated how they would behave when their partner withdrew consent during these scenarios. Participants were grouped into profiles of ER strategy use, which was used as part of a model predicting sexual assault perpetration. Specifically, men with greater hostility toward women were especially likely to use a "low acting with awareness, low resignation" profile, which was associated with greater anger, impulsivity, and intentions to perpetrate. This could be attributed to the increased cognitive load, increased rumination on their partner's refusal, or increased drive to obtain sex associated with this profile. Future research should replicate these results in a more diverse sample, and examine the efficacy of interventions redirecting participants away from a "low acting with awareness, low resignation" profile on sexual assault prevention.

Profiles of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Intentions to Perpetrate Sexual Assault

Objective

Sexual assault perpetration remains prevalent among young men, and emotion regulation (ER) is a prominent contributor to sexual assault perpetration among young men experiencing anger or sexual arousal. However, little is known about the specific ER strategies which men use when perpetrating. Thus, the present study used latent profile analysis to group men into profiles based on their in-the-moment use of several ER strategies during two, hypothetical sexual situations: one which induced anger and another which induced sexual arousal.

Method

In total, 187 single, young, heterosexually active men from the United States provided responses to an online study, in which they projected themselves into two hypothetical sexual scenarios and answered questions regarding their use of ER strategies and intentions to perpetrate sexual assault after their hypothetical partner indicated she did not consent.

Results

Participants were grouped into four profiles based on their use of different ER strategies. Men in the "high acting with awareness, low resignation" profile reported lower perpetration intentions than men in the "low acting with awareness" or "moderate all strategies" profiles following both scenarios.

Conclusions

Men in the "high acting with awareness, low resignation" profile may have reported lower perpetration intentions because of the reduced cognitive load associated with acting with awareness relative to other ER strategies, and the increased self-efficacy to avoid sexual aggression associated with low resignation. Thus, future research should replicate the results with this profile in other contexts to determine its feasibility and effectiveness for reducing sexual assault in future interventions.

Consistent Condom Use and Associated Factors among sexually active Military Personnel in Eastern Ethiopia: Cross-Sectional Study Design

Background

A condom is a latex-based device used to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Despite condom availability and promotion for use in STI prevention, consistent condom use remains too low in Ethiopia. A significant proportion of Ethiopian military personnel had multiple sexual partners, with lower rates of condom use with non-regular sexual partners. As a result, determining the pattern of condom use and the factors associated with it among military personnel is critical.

Objective

The purpose of this study was to evaluate consistent condom use and associated factors among sexually active military personnel in Eastern Ethiopia from February 1 to 28, 2020.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 327 sexually active military personnel. To select the study participants, a systematic sampling technique was used. The data were entered into EpiData and exported to the Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 20 for analysis. To identify factors associated with condom use, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used, and the strength of the association was measured using odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (CI), with P-values less than 0.05 considered statistically significant.

Results

The overall prevalence of consistent condom uses over one year by the respondents was 59.9% (95% CI: 54, 65). Study participants with an age of 30–35 years old (AOR = 3.12; 95% CI: 1.43, 11.38), above 35 years old (AOR = 2.42; 95% CI: 1.83, 9.30), college and above in educational status (AOR = 1.52; 95% CI: 1.20, 5.43), Officer in military rank (AOR = 3.12; 95% CI: 1.14, 10.15) and other military ranks (AOR = 3.08; 2.33, 8.52) were factors facilitate the use of condom consistently.

Conclusion

In this study, two in every five military personnel use condoms inconsistently. Designing appropriate intervention and behavioral change strategies, as well as increasing the accessibility and availability of condoms around military camps, will undoubtedly have a significant impact on consistent condom utilization.

The Effect of State, Trait, and Situational Factors on Young Men's Coercive Condom Use Resistance

Coercive Condom Use Resistance (CUR) is a significant problem, associated with increases in STIs, unplanned pregnancy, feelings of betrayal, and a loss of sexual autonomy. Furthermore, young men are much more likely to perpetrate coercive CUR than young women. Thus, the present study sought to examine the past experiences, trait characteristics, and state emotions which may precede coercive CUR perpetration intentions, including alcohol intoxication, childhood emotional abuse, trait impulsivity, sexual sensation seeking, state impulsivity, and state anxiety, using an alcohol administration procedure. Young, single, non-problem drinking, and sexually active men who have sex with women from the United States (N = 297; 66% White, 9.4% Black, 10.7% Multi-racial, 5.1% Asian, 1.0% Native American, 1.0% Pacific Islander, and 10.4% Hispanic or Latino) were recruited for participation. They were randomly assigned to either receive alcohol or remain sober before projecting themselves into a hypothetical sexual scenario with a woman who asked to use a condom. Results showed that greater levels of childhood emotional abuse were associated with increased trait impulsivity and sexual sensation seeking, and that sexual sensation seeking was associated with increased state impulsivity and subsequent anxiety during the scenario. Finally, alcohol intoxication moderated the relationship between state anxiety and coercive CUR such that state anxiety was positively associated with coercive CUR among intoxicated men only. Findings suggest that interventions targeting coercive CUR behavior may be improved by focusing on men who have experienced childhood trauma, as well as their alcohol consumption and in-the-moment experiences of impulsivity and anxiety.

The Roles of Emotion Regulation, Alcohol Consumption, and Women's Condom Request Style in Men's Coercive Condom Use Resistance Intentions

Condom use resistance (CUR) remains a significant problem, and many men employ coercive CUR strategies to avoid using condoms with partners who do not consent to unprotected sex. To assess the decision-making process underlying men's coercive CUR, the present study administered alcohol to assess the effects of alcohol intoxication, condom request style, and emotion regulation (ER) strategies (i.e., cognitive reappraisal, expressive suppression) on intentions to use coercive CUR to have unprotected sex during a hypothetical sexual scenario. Sexually active, male social drinkers (N = 297) were randomly assigned to either consume alcohol or remain sober, and to project themselves into a hypothetical sexual scenario during which they received either indirect, direct, or insistent condom requests. Results showed that, although cognitive reappraisal had no relationship with coercive CUR or unprotected sex intentions, expressive suppression's relationship with intentions to have unprotected sex was mediated by coercive CUR and moderated by alcohol intoxication and condom request. Specifically, suppression was positively associated with coercive CUR among sober individuals who received an indirect condom request only. Such results suggest that sober men with suppressive tendencies may use coercive CUR to regulate negative emotions, such as frustration at not being able to have unprotected sex.

The Role of Alcohol-Related Behavioral Risk in the Design of HIV Prevention Interventions in the Era of Antiretrovirals: Alcohol Challenge Studies and Research Agenda

HIV/AIDS remains a significant health threat and alcohol is a robust contributing factor. After 25 years of alcohol challenge studies investigating alcohol-related behavioral risk (ARBR), much has been learned delineating how drinking influences sexual transmission. We examine this research and consider its relevance for interventions in the era of antiretrovirals. We consider prototypic alcohol challenge methods, illustrative findings, and prevention/intervention implications, noting three perspectives: (a) scale up/extend existing interventions, including identifying under-targeted risk groups and intersecting with PrEP/PEP interventions; (b) modify existing interventions by cultivating psychoeducational content related to alcohol expectancies, alcohol myopia, sexual arousal, risk perception, sexual abdication, and condom use resistance; and (c) innovate new interventions through Science of Behavior Change approaches and repurposing ARBR paradigms. Finally, we suggest research directions concluding that until HIV incidence diminishes significantly, psychosocial interventions addressing the nexus of alcohol use, sexual transmission, and adherence to biomedical protocols will be an important priority.

Development and Evidence of the Validity of the Condom Use Attitudes Scale for Youth and Adults in a Chilean Context

Condom use is the most effective preventive behavior against HIV transmission, and its inadequate use is a public health problem that occurs mostly among youth and young adults. Although there are scales that measure condom use, those that exist correspond to English-speaking developments or do not have psychometric evidence to support them, so it is possible that the available adaptations of instruments do not adequately reflect the phenomenon in the Chilean population. Thus, the study aims to develop a scale to assess attitudes toward condom use in Chilean youth and young adults. Initially, a sample of students between 18 and 39 years (n = 520) was used for debugging the instrument. Then, a second sample was taken from the general population aged 18 to 40 (n = 992) to confirm the factor structure of the proposed model. The final scale has 10 items and 3 attitudinal dimensions (affective, cognitive, and behavioral). The results show that the identified structure provides adequate levels (ω > 0.7) or at least sufficient of reliability (ω > 0.6) and presents evidence of validity, based on the internal structure of the test, through ESEM (CFI = 0.993; TLI = 0.984; RMSEA = 0.056). In addition, evidence of validity was obtained based on the relationship with other variables and strong invariance between the scores of men and women. It is concluded that the scale developed has adequate psychometric properties to assess, in brief form, condom use attitudes in equal samples for research and screening purposes.