title: Alcohol Use Predicts Number of Sexual Partners for Female but not Male STI Clinic Patients.
abstract: This study tested the hypothesis that greater alcohol involvement will predict number of sexual partners to a greater extent for women than for men, and that the hypothesized sex-specific, alcohol-sexual partner associations will hold when controlling for alternative sex-linked explanations (i.e., depression and drug use). We recruited 508 patients (46 % female, 67 % African American) from a public sexually transmitted infections (STI) clinic. Participants reported number of sexual partners, drinks per week, maximum drinks per day, frequency of heavy drinking; they also completed the AUDIT-C and a measure of alcohol problems. As expected, men reported more drinking and sexual partners. Also as expected, the association between alcohol use and number of partners was significant for women but not for men, and these associations were not explained by drug use or depression. A comprehensive prevention strategy for women attending STI clinics might include alcohol use reduction.
authors: Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA. kate_carey@brown.edu.|Center for Alcohol and Addiction Studies, School of Public Health, Brown University, Box G-S121-5, Providence, RI, 02912, USA. kate_carey@brown.edu.
authors: Kate B
authors: KB
authors: Carey
authors: School of Nursing, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
authors: Theresa E
authors: TE
authors: Senn
authors: Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, School of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors: Jennifer L
authors: JL
authors: Walsh
authors: Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.|Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, School of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors: Lori A J
authors: LA
authors: Scott-Sheldon
authors: Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, School of Public Health, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.|Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine, The Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI, USA.|Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, School of Medicine, Brown University, Providence, RI, USA.
authors: Michael P
authors: MP
authors: Carey
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D000428:Alcohol Drinking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000523:psychology*; D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000431:Ethanol / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D021841:Safe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders; D047568:Unsafe Sex / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000431:Ethanol
keywords: AIDS; Alcohol; HIV; Partner concurrency; Sexual behavior; Women