A measurement model of women's behavioral risk taking.
The current study was designed to gain a better understanding of the nature of the relationship between substance use and sexual risk taking within a community sample of women (N = 1,004). Using confirmatory factor analysis, the authors examined the factor structure of sexual risk behaviors and substance use to determine whether they are best conceptualized as domains underlying a single, higher order, risk-taking propensity. A 2 higher order factor model (sexual risk behavior and substance use) provided the best fit to the data, suggesting that these 2 general risk domains are correlated but independent factors. Sensation seeking had large general direct effects on the 2 risk domains and large indirect effects on the 4 first-order factors and the individual indicators. Negative affect had smaller, yet still significant, effects. Impulsivity and anxiety were unrelated to sexual health risk domains.
Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. ctamsen@ria.buffalo.edu
Carol
C
VanZile-Tamsen
Maria
M
Testa
Lisa L
LL
Harlow
Jennifer A
JA
Livingston
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000437:Alcoholism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009518:New York; D012309:Risk-Taking; D021841:Safe Sex; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders