Alcohol Use and Health in Young Women

描述（由申请人提供）：媒体报道称，“勾搭”（伴侣之间不期望浪漫承诺的性接触）在青少年中越来越多，导致无保护的性风险行为，精神健康状况恶化，性传播疾病（STD）风险增加。然而，关于勾搭的科学研究却很少。大多数已经完成的研究都是描述性的或定性的，并且使用了不同的勾搭定义；几乎没有发表的研究使用纵向设计来调查性联系的预测因素和后果。为了解决这些文献中的空白，本研究计划将：(1)在从高中过渡到大学的女性青少年的代表性样本中记录插入性勾搭的流行程度；(2)识别插入性勾搭的前因，包括理论和经验建议的行为风险因素（如酒精使用）、个人变量和影响性勾搭的社会环境条件；(3)探索急性事件期间和大学一年级期间酒精使用与性联系之间的纵向关系；(4)评估插入性勾搭对三个健康结果的影响：不想要的性经历/性侵犯、性病发病率和精神健康（如抑郁症状、自尊、心身症状）。为了实现这些目标，我们将在大学第一学期之前招募500名女青少年；在研究开始时，参与者将提供有关先前性行为（包括勾搭）的信息，以及未来勾搭的几个假设预测因素（例如，与酒精有关的行为和期望、个人特征和社会因素）。在接下来的一年中，将每月与参与者联系，评估性联系和酒精使用行为、心理健康指标以及不想要的性接触经历；此外，所有参与者都将接受两种性传播疾病的检测。通过这种纵向设计获得的数据将使用潜在增长曲线模型进行分析，这将允许测试关于性联系的前因和后果的先验假设，特别强调饮酒的同时发生。这项研究将首次对插入性行为对身心健康的影响进行大规模的纵向调查，为晚期青少年的健康促进和疾病预防工作提供信息。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Media reports suggest that "hookups" (sexual encounters between partners who have no expectation of a romantic commitment) are increasing among adolescents, resulting in unprotected sexual risk behavior, poorer mental health, and increased risk for sexually transmitted disease (STD). However, there have been few scientific investigations of hookups. The majority of studies that have been completed have been descriptive or qualitative and have used varying definitions of hookups; virtually no published research has investigated the predictors and consequences of sexual hookups using a longitudinal design. To address these lacunae in the literature, the proposed program of research will: (1) document the prevalence of penetrative sexual hookups in a representative sample of female adolescents as they transition from high school to college; (2) identify the antecedents of penetrative sexual hookups, including theoretically- and empirically-suggested behavioral risk factors (i.e., alcohol use), person variables, and social-environmental conditions that influence sexual hookups; (3) explore the longitudinal relationship between alcohol use and sexual hookups during acute events and over the first year of college; and (4) evaluate the effects of penetrative sexual hookups on three health outcomes: unwanted sexual experiences/sexual assault, STD incidence, and mental health (e.g., depressive symptoms, self-esteem, psychosomatic symptoms). To achieve these goals, we will recruit 500 female adolescents immediately prior to their first semester in college; at study entry, participants will provide information regarding prior sexual behavior (including hookups) and several hypothesized predictors (e.g., alcohol-related behavior and expectancies, personal characteristics, and social factors) of future hookups. Participants will be contacted monthly over the next year to assess sexual hookups and alcohol use behavior, mental health markers, and experience of unwanted sexual contact; in addition, all participants will be tested for two STDs. The data obtained with this longitudinal design will be analyzed using latent growth curve modeling, which will permit testing of a priori hypotheses regarding the antecedents and consequences of sexual hookups, with special emphasis on the co-occurrence of alcohol use. This study will provide the first large-scale, longitudinal investigation into the physical and mental health consequences of penetrative sex hookups, to inform health promotion and disease prevention efforts for late adolescents. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The proposed research will investigate sexual hookups among young women during the transitional first year of college. We will measure the prevalence of hookups, specify the personal and situational factors that increase the risk of sexual hookups, and explore the mental and physical health consequences of hookups. This research will inform young people, parents, and educators, and facilitate the development of interventions to promote the health of young women.