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.
VanZile-Tamsen
Carol
C
Research Institute on Addictions, University at Buffalo, State University of New York, Buffalo, NY 14203, USA. ctamsen@ria.buffalo.edu
Testa
Maria
M
Harlow
Lisa L
LL
Livingston
Jennifer A
JA
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