Implicit Attitudes and HIV Risk Behavior

这一修订后的申请建议进行研究，以纠正目前对艾滋病毒性风险研究的局限性。 以前的研究集中在审议，信仰为基础的态度，对性风险行为。 然而，在性环境中，系统地恢复一个人对避孕套和艾滋病毒预防的信念可能往往是最小的。 最近的理论进展表明，在这种情况下，行为应该更好地预测内隐态度。 内隐性态度是一种评价性的反应，它是在性情境中由线索自动地、毫不费力地唤起的，涉及感觉而不是口头表达的思想。 本研究将使用新的反应潜伏期方法来评估内隐安全套态度。 在两项研究中，300名HIV阳性者将完成基线自我报告措施，以评估他们的性行为和明确的（基于信仰的）安全套态度。 计算机启动和内隐联想任务也将用于基线评估内隐态度避孕套和风险相关行为。 一个诊所的病人将继续接受常规治疗;另一个诊所的病人将开始更密集的心理干预，旨在降低态度和性行为的风险。 6个月后，所有措施将再次完成。 对于这两组人来说，内隐态度应该可以预测随后的性行为（例如，避孕套的使用）在自发的情况下（例如，偶尔的合作伙伴）比明确的态度更好，而相反的是预期的审议情况（例如，主要合作伙伴）。 接受强化干预的个体最应该改变内隐态度，减少危险性行为。 另外四项研究将使用910名额外的参与者来测试其他假设：（1）将特定情感关联与安全套联系起来的内隐测量将与性行为和安全套使用的相关动机的个体差异相关（例如，享乐、社会、恐惧）。(2)实验操作（认知可及性和情感启动技术），创造内隐态度的短暂变化，将导致短期增加安全套相关的行为。 最终，了解如何自动诱发安全套的态度与情感和动机状态的影响性风险行为可能会建议重新审查的干预措施，可能会影响内隐（以及明确）的态度，例如，技能培训的直接经验方面。

This revised application proposes studies to redress limitations in current research on HIV sexual risk. Previous research focuses on deliberative, belief-based attitudes toward sexual risk behaviors. Sexual contexts, however, epitomize situations in which systematic retrieval of one's beliefs about condoms and HIV prevention might often be minimal. Recent theoretical advances suggest that in such contexts, behavior should be better predicted by implicit attitudes. Implicit sexual attitudes are evaluative responses that are automatically and effortlessly evoked by cues in a sexual situation and involve feelings rather than verbally articulated thought. This research will use new response latency methods to assess implicit condom attitudes. In two studies, three hundred HIV-positive individuals will complete baseline self-report measures to assess their sexual behavior and explicit (belief-based) condom attitudes. Computerized priming and implicit association tasks will also be used at baseline to assess implicit attitudes toward condoms and risk-related behavior. Individuals at one clinic will continue to receive their regular treatment; individuals at the other clinic will begin a more intensive psychological intervention designed to make attitudes and sexual behavior become less risky. Six months later, all measures will be completed again. For both groups, implicit attitudes should predict subsequent sexual behavior (e.g., condom usage) in spontaneous contexts (e.g., occasional partners) better than will explicit attitudes, and the reverse is expected for deliberative situations (e.g., main partners). Individuals exposed to the intensive intervention should change implicit attitudes and reduce risky sexual behavior the most. Four other studies will test other hypotheses using 910 additional participants: (1) Implicit measures linking specific affective associations to condoms will be correlated with individual differences in relevant motives for sexual behavior and condom use (e.g., hedonic, social, fear). (2) Experimental manipulations (cognitive accessibility and affective priming techniques) that create transient changes in implicit attitudes will lead to short-term increases in condom-related behavior. Ultimately, understanding how automatically evoked condom attitudes associated with affective and motivational states impact sexual risk behavior may suggest a reexamination of aspects of interventions that might be impacting implicit (as well as explicit) attitudes-for example, the direct experience aspect of skills training.