The effect of alcohol on sexual risk-taking among young men and women.

The current study investigated the effects of alcohol and gender on the intentions of engaging in sexual risk-taking. Young adults (101 men, 99 women) were randomly assigned to the alcohol, placebo, or no-alcohol conditions. Participants listened to an audiotaped scenario that presented a romantic situation between a man and a woman who had just met. Participants were asked to imagine that they were one of the individuals in the scenario and then judged their intentions to engage in sexual risk-taking. Similar previous studies (e.g., Abbey, Saenz, & Buck, 2005) employing a vignette in which the couple had known each other prior to the romantic encounter found that intoxicated individuals reported a greater willingness to engage in sexual activity than those in the placebo and control groups. In contrast, the current study's results showed that intoxicated and placebo-treated women reported a greater intention of engaging in sex than sober women (b=4.92, t=2.42, p<05). Conversely, intoxicated and placebo-treated men reported less willingness to engage in sex than sober men (b=-4.66, t=-2.14, p<.05). Neither alcohol nor gender predicted participants' intention to use a condom if they chose to engage in sex. However, those who used condoms more frequently were more likely to report intending to use a condom in this scenario (b=-1.60, t=-2.17, p<.05). The results demonstrated the complex processes underlying the effects of alcohol on engaging in casual sex by revealing a gender-specific psychological effect of alcohol.

ADHD symptoms, anticipated hangover symptoms, and drinking habits in female college students.

One risk factor increasingly evaluated as a predictor of problem drinking over the last two decades is Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD; e.g., [Smith, B.H., Molina, B.S.G., & Pelham, W.E., Jr. (2002). The clinically meaningful link between alcohol use and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Alcohol Research & Health, 26(2), 122-129.]). Previous research has shown an inconsistent link between these two constructs indicating that a third variable, such as anticipated hangover symptoms, may be moderating this relation. In the current study, 68 female college students completed measures assessing alcohol consumption over the previous three months, ADHD symptoms, and anticipated hangover symptoms. Hierarchical linear regression, with Body Mass Index as a covariate, revealed that anticipated hangover symptoms moderated the relation between ADHD symptoms and frequency of drinking per month, beta=-.25, t (63)=-2.07, p<.05. Simple slopes analyses indicated that only individuals anticipating lesser hangover symptoms demonstrated a positive relation between their ADHD symptoms and frequency of drinking per month, beta=.44, t (63)=2.64, p<.05. Individuals anticipating greater hangover symptoms showed no relation between these two constructs. These results support the traditional punishment model of hangover symptoms, suggesting that those who do not anticipate the punishing effects of hangover may be at greatest risk for problem drinking.

Cognitive functioning moderates the relation between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder symptoms and alcohol use in women.

Previous work revealed that cognitive functioning moderated the relation between Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Symptoms and alcohol use [Alcohol., Clin. Exp. Res. 23 (1999) 224]. ADHD Symptoms correlated significantly with alcohol use for individuals with a poorer performance on tasks assessing prefrontal area functioning but not for individuals with higher scores on these tasks. The current study proposes to replicate this previous work and extend it in three ways. These include using a sample consisting solely of women, including the current DSM-IV [American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., revised). Washington, DC: Author] criteria for ADHD, and increasing the number of measures to assess cognitive functioning and drinking habits. Eighty-two female undergraduates completed four measures of alcohol use, three measures of ADHD, and six measures of cognitive functioning. Stacked two-group analyses replicated the previous moderator effect. Alcohol use and ADHD symptoms correlated .31 (ns) for the individuals who scored higher on the neuropsychological tasks. However, these constructs correlated .53 (P < .05) for individuals with lower scores on these tasks. Better performance on tasks assessing prefrontal area functioning may protect individuals from drinking in accordance with their ADHD symptoms.

Cross-cultural differences in female university students' attitudes toward homosexuals: a preliminary study.

62 Caucasian, 61 Hispanic, and 44 Asian female undergraduates completed the Index of Homophobia by Hudson and Ricketts, seven items from the Attitudes Toward Lesbians and Gay Men Scale by Herek, and three questions on Affectional Orientation toward homosexuals from D'Augelli and Rose. Overall, familiarity with homosexuals as measured by self-reported number of homosexual friends correlated negatively with scores on the homophobia measures, but there were no significant differences among the groups' reported number of homosexual friends. Asian students scored significantly higher on the homophobia measures than Caucasian students. Both Asian and Hispanic students endorsed the statement significantly more often than Caucasian students that the university would be better if only heterosexuals attended. No significant differences in scores were found regarding attitudes toward lesbians versus gay men.