Testing a Model Predicting Risky Sexual Behavior

Sexually transmitted disease and infection rates are continually increasing. Individuals who engage in high-risk sexual behavior (HRSB) expose themselves to multiple risks, including social, emotional, and physical risks. Overall, cultural, intrapsychic, and interpersonal scripts comingle to guide our behavior in sexual situations, yet existing theoretical models that seek to explain an individual's decision to engage in HRSB tend to test specific elements in isolation that affect likelihood of engaging in high-risk sexual behavior rather than examining the combined influence of multiple variables on the decision-making process. In this study, we tested a five-factor model of high-risk sexual decision-making. Results indicated that the model explained approximately 50.5% of the variance in HRSB. Findings and implications for future research are discussed.