Demographic and sexual risk predictors of delay discounting of condom-protected sex

Abstract

Objective: Sexual delay discounting describes the decreased likelihood of condom-protected sex if a condom is not immediately available, which can be quantitatively summarised using the Sexual Delay Discounting Task (SDDT). The present studies determined the extent to which condom use likelihood as assessed by the SDDT is associated with self-reported sexual risk behaviours and demographics in two online samples of adults. Design: Study 1 (n = 767) assessed demographics, sexual risk behaviour, and delay discounting, and examined relations between these variables using correlation and regression. Study 2 (n = 267) examined whether real-world instances of unprotected sex because a condom was not immediately available predicted greater sexual discounting. Main outcome measures: Sexual delay discounting, condom use. Results: Both studies observed significant positive relations between sexual delay discounting and self-reported sexual risk behaviours, and found that males tended to show greater sexual discounting. In Study 2, 46% of the sample self-reported having unprotected sex because a condom was not immediately available, and these individuals showed significantly greater sexual delay discounting. Conclusion: These results extend prior findings by demonstrating that delay is a critical variable underlying real-life sexual risk behaviour among non-clinical samples. The SDDT is an ecologically valid measure of these processes.

Keywords:

• Delay discounting
• sexual delay discounting
• HIV risk
• sexually transmitted infection
• condom use
• sex differences

Acknowledgements

The authors thank Zainab Elradi Jackson and Robert LeComte for their assistance in conducting this research.

Disclosure statement

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health or the U.S. government. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse, the U.S. National Institutes of Health [grant number R01DA032363], [grant number R01DA003890], [grant number R01DA035277], [grant number T32DA07209].