Does the Change in Smoking and Marijuana Use Policies Influence Adolescents’ Risky Sexual Behaviors and Other Associated Factors?

Introduction: Despite evidence from numerous studies that document the association between risky sexual behaviors (RSBs) and behaviors driving them, few had investigated the trends of the association over time, which was the objective of this study.Methods: A total of 61,072 students from four Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBS) survey years (1993, 2001, 2009, and 2017) were included. The relationship between five risky behaviors (suicide risk, smoking, binge drinking, marijuana use, and physical fight) and two indicators of RSBs (condom non-use and multiple sexual partners) was investigated. Interactions between survey years and risky behaviors were included in the models to test the strength of associations over time.Results: Compared to previous years, most associations between risky behaviors and RSBs were converging. However, there were no consistent decreasing changes in associations across time in marijuana, smoking, and RSBs relationships.Conclusion: Findings raise concerns about the potential impact of interventions directed toward adolescent’s substance use. However, longitudinal studies are needed to clarify directionality and make more specific practice and policy recommendations for adolescents’ smoking and marijuana use as proxies to reduce the growing burden of STIs among this population.Policy Implications: Despite the public push against adolescent’s substance use, our findings may suggest that the policies around tobacco and marijuana use have not been as effective on the adolescent population as intended.

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Risky Sexual Behaviors, Substance Use, and Perceptions of Risky Behaviors Among Criminal Justice Involved Women Who Trade Sex

Journal of Drug Issues ◽

10.1177/0022042618795141 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 49 (1) ◽

pp. 15-27

Author(s):

Abenaa A. Jones ◽

T. V. Dyer ◽

A. Das ◽

S. O. Lasopa ◽

C. W. Striley ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Drug Court ◽

Risky Behaviors ◽

Risky Sexual Behaviors ◽

Court System ◽

Multinomial Regression ◽

Sex Trading ◽

Diagnostic And Statistical Manual ◽

Multinomial Regression Model

This study examined risky sexual behaviors, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed.; DSM-IV)-defined alcohol and substance use disorders, and perceptions of risky behaviors among community released, justice-involved women, who are currently trading sex (CTS), formerly traded sex (FTS), or have never traded sex. Data were derived from 266 sexually active women recruited from a Municipal Drug Court System in St. Louis, Missouri. In an adjusted multinomial regression model, being dependent on alcohol and cocaine was the most robust correlate of sex-trading status (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]: CTS = 4.21, FTS = 4.66). Perceptions of sexual risk and HIV were significantly associated with CTS (AOR = 3.39), however, not FTS. Other significant correlates of sex trading status included age, lifetime injection drug use, lower education, child sexual abuse, and unstable housing. Gender-specific interventions tailored toward currently and formerly sex-trading women are needed.

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User-Agent Bond in Generalizable Environments: Long-Term Risk-Reduction via Nudged Virtual Choices

Frontiers in Psychology ◽

10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695389 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 ◽

Author(s):

Liyuan Wang ◽

John L. Christensen ◽

Benjamin J. Smith ◽

Traci K. Gillig ◽

David C. Jeong ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Video Game ◽

Risky Behaviors ◽

Risky Sexual Behaviors ◽

Behavior Changes ◽

Social Expectation ◽

The Social ◽

Subsequent Behavior ◽

The Media ◽

Sex With Men

Avatars or agents are digitized self-representations of a player in mediated environments. While using agents to navigate through mediated environments, players form bonds with their self-agents or characters, a process referred to as identification. Identification can involve automatic, but temporary, self-concept “shifts in implicit self-perceptions” (Klimmt et al., 2010, p. 323) of the media user by adopting or emphasizing the action choices on behalf of the social expectation of the avatar in the mediated environment. In the current study, we test the possibility that users' identification with video game avatars–a bond built between avatars and players- would account for subsequent behavior changes. We did so by using 3-month longitudinal data involving a narratively-based serious game: Socially Optimized Learning in Virtual Environments (SOLVE), a 3D-interactive game designed to reduce risky sexual behaviors among young men who have sex with men (n = 444). Results show that video game identification predicts both the reduction of risky sexual behaviors over time, and reduction in the number of non-primary partners with whom risky sex occurs. And when players identify with the game character, they tend to make healthier choices, which significantly mediates the link between video game identification and reduction of risky behaviors.

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The Relationship Between Social Anxiety and Alcohol and Marijuana Use Outcomes Among Concurrent Users: A Motivational Model of Substance Use

Alcoholism Clinical and Experimental Research ◽

10.1111/acer.13966 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 43 (4) ◽

pp. 732-740 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Margo C. Villarosa‐Hurlocker ◽

Adrian J. Bravo ◽

Matthew R. Pearson ◽

Mark A. Prince ◽

Michael B. Madson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Social Anxiety ◽

Marijuana Use ◽

Motivational Model ◽

The Relationship

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Psychiatric Illness and Treatment in HIV Populations

10.1093/med/9780190493097.003.0037 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth David

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Psychiatric Illness ◽

Delayed Diagnosis ◽

Risky Behaviors ◽

Health Issues ◽

Adherence To Treatment ◽

Risk Environment ◽

Multiple Sexual Partners ◽

Self Harm ◽

Emotional Immaturity

The interaction between HIV and mental illness is complex. For many individuals, the psychiatric condition is a preexisting one, predisposing to HIV infection through behavioral factors and risk environment. The risk factors for HIV are well established and involve blood/bodily fluid contact with infected individuals: unprotected sexual behaviors, needle sharing, multiple sexual partners, and fetal/natal exposure. Individuals with preexisting psychiatric illness often engage in risky behaviors with little thought or fear of consequences. This relates to increased emotional immaturity and impulsivity, poor contact with reality, denial and disinhibition, cognitive dysfunction, active thoughts of self-harm, and victimization or impaired judgment. Barriers to treatment, such as distrust of authority, poor communication skills, limited access, lack of motivation, and unstructured lifestyle, result in poor overall health care and delayed diagnosis of all health issues. Diagnosis of mental health issues is frequently challenging, and adherence to treatment is frequently impacted by these same factors.

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Alcohol-related protective behavioral strategies as a mediator of the relationship between drinking motives and risky sexual behaviors

Addictive Behaviors ◽

10.1016/j.addbeh.2019.01.009 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 93 ◽

pp. 1-8 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Alison Looby ◽

Adrian J. Bravo ◽

Tess M. Kilwein ◽

Lauren Zimmerman ◽

Matthew R. Pearson

Keyword(s):

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Risky Sexual Behaviors ◽

Drinking Motives ◽

Behavioral Strategies ◽

Protective Behavioral Strategies ◽

The Relationship

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Patterns of Risky Sexual Behaviors and Associated Factors among Youths and Adolescents in Vietnam

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph17061903 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (6) ◽

pp. 1903 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Ha Ngoc Do ◽

Diep Ngoc Nguyen ◽

Hoa Quynh Thi Nguyen ◽

Anh Tuan Nguyen ◽

Hiep Duy Nguyen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Substance Use ◽

Unintended Pregnancy ◽

Sexual Behaviors ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Urban Areas ◽

Cross Sectional Study ◽

Unprotected Sex ◽

Risky Sexual Behaviors ◽

Cross Sectional ◽

Attitudes And Practices

Youths and adolescents are vulnerable to HIV/STIs from unprotected sex. Promotion of young population’s awareness about risky sexual behaviors is essential to develop contextualized interventions. A cross-sectional study was conducted in five Vietnamese provinces to document current attitudes and practices regarding sexual behaviors among youths. The information on sociodemographic characteristics, substance use, and sexual behaviors was collected via self-reported questionnaires. The factors associated with risky sexual behaviors were identified by the multivariate logistic regression. Among the 1200 participants, 73.5% reported having sex in their lifetime, and 48.1% used condoms at their latest sexual intercourse. Participants in urban areas were more likely not to intend to use condoms and had a higher unintended pregnancy rate than in rural areas. Older age was positively associated with not wanting to use and not using condoms. Substance-using participants were more likely to not use condoms. The participants taking alcohol or other stimulants before sex had a higher likelihood of unintended pregnancy. Respondents’ attitudes and practices regarding sexual behaviors were associated with gender and employment. This study indicated that young population’s awareness in Vietnam is high, however, risky sexual behaviors also remain common. Sex-related educational programs about the consequences of substance use, multiple sex partners, and unprotected sex should be developed.

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