Risky sex: testing moderated mediation among college students
| Published date | 09 October 2017 |
| Date | 09 October 2017 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-05-2017-0296 |
| Pages | 246-256 |
| Author | Madison Wyn Silverstein,Rebecca L. Fix,Apryl A. Alexander |
| Subject Matter | Health & social care,Criminology & forensic psychology,Aggression, conflict & peace,Sociology,Gender studies,Gender violence,Political sociology, policy & social change,Social conflicts,War/peace |
Risky sex: testing moderated mediation
among college students
Madison Wyn Silverstein, Rebecca L. Fix and Apryl A. Alexander
Abstract
Purpose –Risky sexual behavior (RSB) on college campuses contributes to elevated rates of sexually
transmitted infections and sexual assault. Research indicates a positive association between sexual
victimization history (SVH) and RSB with alcohol use and sexual sensation seeking as mediators to this
association. Hypermasculinity has also been shown to play a moderating role amongst these associations.
Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to test the associations between RSB, SVH, alcohol use, sexual
sensation seeking, and hypermasculinity.
Design/methodology/approach –Participants were 493 undergraduates who completed measures of
RSB, SVH, alcohol use, sexual sensation seeking, and hypermasculinity. A moderated mediation modelwas
run examining the association between SVH and RSB, with alcohol use and sexual sensation seeking tested
as mediators of the relationship between SVH and RSB. In addition, hypermasculinity was tested as a
moderator of the mediated relationship between SVH and the aforementioned mediator variables.
Findings –Alcohol use and sexual sensation seeking partially mediated the association between SVH and
RSB. Masculinity moderated the association between SVH and RSB via sexual sensation seeking and
between SVH and RSB via alcohol use.
Research limitations/implications –Individuals with SVH might be at a higher risk for alcohol use and
sexual sensation seeking, ultimately increasing their risk for RSB. University policy implications include
implementing alcohol use and awareness interventions, strengthening sexual victimization policies, and
including screenings for SVH at counseling and medical centers.
Originality/value –Previous findings were extended by showing how SVH leads to RSB.
Keywords Policy, Sexual abuse, Substance use, Sexual assault, Trauma, College students
Paper type Research paper
Risky sexual behavior (RSB), such as engaging in sexual activity without contraceptives or having
multiple sexual partners, is common among the USA undergraduate student population
(American College Health Association, 2015). For example, 49.8 percent of undergraduates
reported they did not use a condom during vaginal intercourse, and 25.4 percent of
undergraduates reported having multiple sexual partners (American College Health Association,
2015). Reducing RSB on college campuses is a high public health priority due to psychological,
financial,and legal costs of RSB (e.g.pregnancy, sexuallytransmitted infections;Black et al.,2011;
Centers for Disease Control, 2016; DeLisi et al., 2010; Lalor and McElvaney, 2010 ).
Alarmingly, one in five females and over 5 percent of males on college campuses are affected by
sexual assault (Krebs et al., 2007), which often results in mental health problems (National Center
for PTSD, 2016), and can indirectly lead to subsequent RSB. Accordingly, finding salient risk
factors and precipitants for RSB, particularly among survivors of sexual abuse or assault, could
inform or facilitate the development and implementation of programs designed to prevent or
reduce RSB, which in turn, will potentially reduce RSB.
There appears to be a particularly strong positive association between sexual victimization
history (SVH) andsubsequent RSB (Champion et al., 2004; Combs-Lane and Smith, 2002;Parillo
et al., 2001) that has been consistently observed across a variety of types of sexual victimization,
from childhoodsexual abuse (Browne and Finkelhor,1986; Combs-Lane and Smith, 2002;Parillo
et al., 2001) to adolescent or adult s exual assault (Combs-Lane and Smi th, 2002;
Received 31 May 2017
Revised 28 June 2017
Accepted 28 June 2017
Madison Wyn Silverstein and
Rebecca L. Fix are Graduate
Students, both at the
Department of Psychology,
Auburn University, Auburn,
Alabama, USA.
Apryl A. Alexander is a Clinical
Assistant Professor at the
Graduate School of
Professional Psychology,
University of Denver, Denver,
Colorado, USA.
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JOURNAL OF AGGRESSION, CONFLICT AND PEACE RESEARCH
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VOL. 9 NO. 4 2017, pp.246-256, © Emerald Publishing Limited, ISSN 1759-6599 DOI 10.1108/JACPR-05-2017-0296
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