Do Difficulties Regulating Positive Emotions Contribute to Risky Sexual Behavior? A Path Analysis

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Public Health
• Behavioral Science

Background:

• Risky sexual behavior (RSB) is a primary driver of HIV transmission in the U.S.
• Existing research on emotion dysregulation and RSB primarily focuses on negative emotions.
• There's a need to explore the impact of difficulties regulating positive emotions on RSB.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the unique and relative contributions of difficulties regulating positive emotions to RSB.
• To investigate how nonacceptance of positive emotions (Accept), impulse control difficulties (Impulse), and goal-directed behavior difficulties (Goals) relate to RSB.

Main Methods:

• Study included 386 trauma-exposed adults recruited via Amazon's MTurk.
• Data were collected on dimensions of difficulties regulating positive emotions and various measures of RSB.
• Statistical analyses examined bivariate and unique associations between emotion regulation and RSB.

Main Results:

• Bivariate analyses showed positive associations between difficulties regulating positive emotions and several RSB indicators (e.g., impulsive sex behaviors, intent).
• Unique contributions revealed: nonacceptance linked to impulsive sex behaviors and intent; impulse control difficulties linked to risky anal sex acts.
• Difficulties engaging in goal-directed behaviors were negatively associated with risky anal sex acts.

Conclusions:

• Difficulties in regulating positive emotions are significantly associated with various aspects of RSB.
• These findings highlight the importance of considering positive emotion regulation in interventions.
• Targeting difficulties regulating positive emotions may be a valuable strategy for reducing RSB and HIV transmission.