Alcohol's effects on requisites for sexual risk reduction in men: an initial experimental investigation

The effects of alcohol intoxication on mediators of condom use were examined in a laboratory-based experiment. Twenty men were randomly assigned to either an alcohol or a nonalcohol beverage administration condition. Participants in the experimental condition drank vodka and tonic to achieve a blood alcohol level of 0.08%, whereas controls drank tonic only. All participants then completed a battery of measures related to condom and AIDS-related knowledge, motivation to use condoms, and behavioral self-efficacy regarding condom use. Findings from this exploratory study, which should be considered preliminary because of the small sample size, indicated that participants who received alcohol tended to report more negative attitudes toward condoms and lower self-efficacy to initiate condom use than controls. AIDS knowledge, appraisal of social norms regarding condom use, and perceived risk of infection were unaffected by alcohol consumption.