Developmental relations and patterns of change between alcohol use and number of sexual partners from adolescence through adulthood

Dados Bibliográficos

ID9787974
AutoresShannon J Dogan (University of California, Berkeley, autor correspondente), Gary D Stockdale (University of California, Davis), Keith F Widaman (0000-0002-6424-3998, University of California, Davis), Rand D Conger (University of California, Davis)
Ano2010
Volume46
Fascículo6
Páginas1747-1759
Data de publicação2010-11-01
Peer ReviewedSim
Open AccessNão
TipoARTICLE
PeriódicoDevelopmental Psychology (JOURNAL)
Identificadores do periódicoISSN: 0012-1649 • E-ISSN: 1939-0599
EditoraAmerican Psychological Association (APA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1037/a0019655
PMID20677862
PMCIDPMC2982773
OpenAlexW2000879761
IdiomaEN
Citações recebidas23
Referências citadas19

We explored two unanswered questions about the role of alcohol use in sexual behavior. First, we considered whether alcohol use temporally precedes and predicts changes in sexual behavior assessed as the number of sexual partners, whether the reverse pattern holds, or whether the association reflects a common, external cause. Second, we assessed whether associations between these behaviors change as adolescents transition to adulthood. These questions were addressed with a bivariate dual change latent difference score model. Drinking frequency and number of yearly sex partners were assessed 8 times across a 13-year period in a sample of 553 individuals. Assessment began when participants were in the 9th grade (age: M = 15.11 years, SD = 0.43). In addition to an association between the individual growth trajectories of these behaviors, alcohol use was a leading indicator of changes in number of sex partners throughout adolescence, but the reverse pattern was not supported. Of importance, the predictive association could not be explained by individual differences in impulsivity, excitement seeking, conduct problems, hostility/aggression, conventional attitudes, gender, or divorce. Finally, in a developmentally meaningful pattern, alcohol use ceased to significantly predict changes in the number of sexual partners as adolescents transitioned to adulthood

Aggression · Association (psychology · Bivariate analysis · Developmental psychology · Hostility · Impulsivity · Injury prevention · Latent growth modeling · Poison control · Young adult · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development · Clinical Psychology · Family Dynamics and Relationships · Human Factors and Ergonomics · Medicine · Psychology