Although people tend to be quite honest with their sex partners, many tell occasional sexual lies, that is, lies to sex partners about sexual matters. Sexual lying about sexual risk history is of concern because many people rely on sexual history-taking from a prospective partner as a safer sex technique, which is effective only if the partner provides an honest sexual history. Therefore, to better understand sexual lying, the current study examined perceptions of own sexual lies and potential determinants of such perceptions.
Participants were 166 heterosexually-active undergraduates who were asked to recall a recent event in which he or she had engaged in sexual lying, and then respond to several questions regarding the event. Results showed that, not surprisingly, relatively risk-relevant and self-protective sexual lies were seen by the liar as more serious and less acceptable. Moreover, those who had ever cheated on a primary partner and those with a greater history of risk-relevant sexual lying told lies that were relatively risk-relevant and self-protective, and thus, saw the lies as more serious and less acceptable. That is, their subjective perceptions of their own lies as serious and unacceptable matched the more objective ratings of those lies by the research assistants as risk-relevant and self-protective.
These findings suggest that safer sex interventions emphasize the potential risk of relying on sexual history-taking from a prospective partner as a safer sex technique, especially if the partner may have a sexually dishonest history.
Learning Objectives: 1. Participants will learn about sexual lies, that is, lies to a sex partner about sexual matters. 2. Participants will be able to develop safer sex intervention implications which apply the results regarding sexual lies about sexual risk history
Keywords: HIV Risk Behavior, Sexual Behavior
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.