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Sexual decision making for the "better than average" college student
1Department of Psychology, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming 82071, USA. lross6@uwyo.edu
Journal of American College Health : J of ACH
|December 28, 2010
Summary
College students
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Public Health
Background:
- Social comparison theory influences self-perception and decision-making.
- The "known partner is a safe partner" heuristic may affect risk assessment in sexual encounters.
- College students' sexual decision-making is a critical area for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate how downward social comparison and the "known partner is a safe partner" heuristic impact college students' sexual decisions.
- To assess the influence of relationship familiarity and vignette perspective on perceived sexual risk and condom use.
- To inform the development of effective safer sex communication strategies for young adults.
Main Methods:
- 180 heterosexual or bisexual undergraduate college students participated.
- Participants analyzed dating vignettes manipulated for perspective (first-person vs. second-person) and partner familiarity (stranger vs. known).
- Ratings were collected on the likelihood of sexual intercourse and condom use within the vignette scenarios.
Main Results:
- Partner familiarity did not significantly alter perceptions of sexual intercourse likelihood or condom use.
- Vignettes presented from a second-person perspective led to lower reported likelihood of sexual intercourse and higher reported condom use.
- These findings suggest a potential self-protective bias, where individuals perceive their own behavior as safer than others'.
Conclusions:
- Downward social comparison, linked to the "better than average effect," may lead students to perceive their own sexual behaviors as inherently safe.
- The "known partner is a safe partner" heuristic did not significantly influence sexual decision-making in this study.
- Safer sex interventions may be more effective when emphasizing the benefits of safe practices rather than solely focusing on risk avoidance.
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