Background: Fundamental motives for survival help people regulate their goal pursuit, by shaping perceptions, feelings and actions. Motives for security (i.e., prevention focus) are associated with risk awareness and risk avoidance, whereas motives for pleasure (i.e., promotion focus) are associated with risk taking. Purpose: During the COVID-19 pandemic, survival needs and health risks are particularly salient. Hence, people focused on prevention (vs. promotion) should be more aware of health risks, more careful in their sexual behaviors, and less likely to take sexual health risks with casual partners. However, feeling safer with casual partners might mitigate some of the risks associated with sexual behaviors during this pandemic. Methods: We administered an online survey in English, Spanish and German to 550 single participants (57.6% women; Mage = 24.72, SD = 5.75). Results: Prevention focused participants were less fearful of COVID-19 infection, perceived to be better informed, and retrieved their information from scientific sources. They were also less likely to have condomless sex with casual partners, regardless how safe they perceived to be with them. Promotion focused participants were more fearful of COVID-19 infection and perceived to be better informed, but retrieved their information from non-scientific sources. They were more willing to have sex with casual partners, and more likely to consider having condomless oral sex, but only if they felt safer (vs. less safe) with their casual partnersConclusions: Our findings show the importance of individual motivations and interpersonal dynamics for risk perception and sexual health behaviors.
The Relationships of Sexual Identity, Hazardous Drinking, and Drinking Expectancies With Risky Sexual Behaviors in a Community Sample of Lesbian and Bisexual Women