The relationship between sex-related alcohol expectancies and hazardous drinking among persons with HIV disease

ABSTRACT

Hazardous drinking is a clinically significant problem among persons with HIV (PWH) disease, and is associated with a number of poor outcomes. Hazardous drinking among PWH is associated with risky substance use and sexual behavior, but little work has examined factors that may be associated with greater hazardous drinking and subsequent risky sexual behaviors among PWH. Research among the general population suggests that sex-related alcohol expectancies, defined as drinking to enhance sexual experience, increase sexual risk-taking, and disinhibition of sexual behavior, are associated with greater hazardous alcohol use and risky sexual behavior, but these relations have not been explored among PWH. Therefore, the current study examined the associations of sex-related alcohol expectancies with hazardous alcohol consumption, dependence, and problems among 146 PWH (M_age = 50.99, SD = 9.41) \ enrolled in a clinical trial examining a personalized feedback intervention to reduce hazardous drinking in primary HIV care. Results showed that only sexual disinhibition-related alcohol expectancies were significantly associated with the criterion variables, such that greater drinking alcohol for sexual disinhibition was associated with greater hazardous drinking behaviors. These results sit on the backdrop of a larger literature documenting the links between disinhibition and hazardous alcohol use and provide explanatory specificity to PWH who are hazardous drinkers.

KEYWORDS:

• HIV
• sex-related alcohol expectancies
• hazardous drinking
• alcohol

Disclosure statement

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

Notes

1 Previous psychometric work with the AUDIT suggests that a 2-factor solution (consumption and dependence/problems) may show similar psychometric properties to the original 3-factor solution (Doyle et al., 2007; Maisto et al., 2000). As a secondary analysis, the 2-factor solution was examined, and the dependence/problems factor showed good internal consistency (α = 0.82).

2 Analyses examining the 2-factor solution (presented above) revealed the same pattern of results, where disinhibition was the only significant predictor.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism [grant number 1 R34 AA023739-01].