Self-efficacy and HIV testing among Latino emerging adults: examining the moderating effects of distress tolerance and sexual risk behaviors

ABSTRACT

Latino emerging adults in the United States are at a high risk of HIV and have a low prevalence of HIV testing. This study examined the association between self-efficacy for HIV testing, distress tolerance and lifetime history of HIV testing, and tested the moderating effect of distress tolerance and sexual risk behaviors on the association between self-efficacy and lifetime history of HIV testing. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 157 Latino emerging adults aged 18–25 using an online survey and were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression and moderation analyses. We found that 62.8% of those engaging in sexual risk behaviors had ever been tested for HIV. Participants that reported higher levels of self-efficacy (aOR=3.49, 95%CI: 1.78–6.83) were more likely to have ever been tested for HIV in their lifetime. There was a statistically significant three-way interaction among self-efficacy for HIV testing, distress tolerance and sexual risk behaviors (b=2.76, 95%CI: .52, 5.00, p=.016). This interaction suggests that among those that reported any sexual risk behaviors, higher levels of self-efficacy were associated with lifetime history of HIV testing only at higher levels of distress tolerance. Further research is warranted to determine how self-efficacy and distress tolerance work together among high-risk groups to promote HIV testing.

KEYWORDS:

• Latino/a
• HIV testing
• self-efficacy
• distress tolerance
• sexual risk behavior

Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge Carlos Estrada, Diana Gutierrez, and Irma Beatriz Vega de Luna for their work in recruiting participants for the project and all the study participants. Preparation of this article was supported by FIU University Graduate School Dissertation Year Fellowship, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [K01 AA025992] and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [K01 MD013770, 5S21MD010683, U54MD012393]. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official view of the National Institutes of Health.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

Preparation of this article was supported by FIU University Graduate School Dissertation Year Fellowship, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [grant number K01 AA025992] and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities [grant number K01 MD013770, 5S21MD010683, U54MD012393].