2015 APHA Annual Meeting & Expo

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Online Program

334497
Dispositional levels of and within-person fluctuations in sexual compulsivity: Associations with sexual behavior in a diary study of highly sexually active gay and bisexual men


Sunday, November 1, 2015

H. Jonathon Rendina, PhD, MPH, Department of Psychology and the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
Ana Ventuneac, PhD, Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
Christian Grov, PhD, MPH, Department of Health and Nutrition Sciences, Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center of CUNY, and the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training, Brooklyn, NY
Jeffrey T. Parsons, PhD, Department of Psychology and the Center for HIV/AIDS Educational Studies and Training (CHEST), Hunter College and the Graduate Center of the City University of New York (CUNY), New York, NY
Background: Although sexual compulsivity (SC) among gay and bisexual men (GBM) has been shown to be associated with greater amount of sex and greater likelihood of condomless anal sex (CAS), no research to date has examined within-person fluctuations in SC from day-to-day.

Method: A sample of 205 highly sexually active GBM completed the full 10-item Sexual Compulsivity Scale (SCS) one time prior to receiving three SCS items every day for the following 30 days in an online diary. We disaggregated daily measurements into between-person scores and within-person fluctuations. We conducted multilevel models adjusted for HIV status, race, and relationship status predicting engaging in casual sex each day and, on sex days, engaging in CAS.

Results: The intraclass correlation for daily SC prior to disaggregation was 0.45, suggesting high within-person variability. Entered simultaneously, higher disaggregated daily SCS scores at the between-person (AOR=2.75, p<.001) and within-person (AOR=2.84, p<.001) levels significantly increased odds of engaging in casual sex, whereas between-person SC symptomology using the one-time full scale did not (p=.37). Among sex days, higher between-person (AOR=2.83, p=.02) and within-person (AOR=1.33, p=.05) scores were associated with higher odds of CAS whereas between-person SC symptomology using the one-time full scale (AOR=0.45, p=.05) was associated with lower odds.

Conclusions: Results showed substantial variability in SC symptoms from day-to-day within individuals. Moreover, daily measurements disaggregated into dispositional and fluctuating effects were stronger predictors of sexual behavior than the once-administered full SCS. Moreover, the full SCS had paradoxical associations with CAS when adjusted for the other two measurements.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Public health or related research
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Identify the two different levels of influence from which sexual compulsivity can act to influence sexual behavior. Describe the impact of sexual compulsivity on sexual behavior.

Keyword(s): HIV Risk Behavior, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT)

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have been conducting research in the field of HIV prevention for more than 9 years. I hold an MPH in Biostatistics and a PhD in Psychology. I am currently a Research Scientist and the Senior Data Analyst at Hunter College's Center for HIV Educational Studies & Training (CHEST) as well as an Adjunct Assistant Professor at the CUNY School of Public Health.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

Back to: 2035.0: Sexual Behavior and HIV