Document Type
Article
Date of Original Version
2006
Department
Psychology
Abstract
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.
Citation/Publisher Attribution
VanZile-Tamsen, C., Testa, M., Livingston, J. A., & Harlow, L. L. (2006). A measurement model of women's behavioral risk taking. Health Psychol., 25(2), 249-254. doi: 10.1037/0278-6133.25.2.249
Available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.25.2.249
Author Manuscript
This is a pre-publication author manuscript of the final, published article.
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