Sensation Seeking and Impulsivity: Combined Associations with Risky Sexual Behavior in a Large Sample of Young Adults

TLDR

Prior research links sensation seeking and impulsive decision‑making to sexual risk‑taking, but it is unclear whether these traits act independently or synergistically. This study aimed to clarify how sensation seeking and impulsive decision‑making jointly influence HIV and STD risk behaviors in a large sample of sexually active young adults. The authors used regression modeling on data from 2,386 sexually active young adults to assess the joint effects of the traits. Regression analyses showed that sensation seeking and impulsive decision‑making were consistently linked to sexual risk behaviors across 11 outcomes, synergistically predicting drug‑associated sex acts and partner‑alcohol or drug‑associated acts, while independently predicting other risk outcomes, highlighting implications for HIV/STD prevention.

Abstract

Although prior studies have shown that sensation seeking and impulsive decision-making are related to sexual risk-taking, it is still unclear whether these personality traits operate independently or synergistically. The purpose of this study was to elucidate the joint contribution of these personality traits to HIV and sexually transmitted disease (STD) risk behaviors using data from a large sample of sexually active young adults (N = 2,386). Regression modeling indicated that both sensation seeking and impulsive decision-making were consistently associated with sexual risk behaviors across 11 risk-related outcomes. Results further indicated that sensation seeking and impulsive decision-making operated synergistically with respect to the outcome variables of sex acts using drugs, acts with a partner using alcohol, and acts with a partner using drugs. In contrast to this, sensation seeking and impulsive decision-making operated independently with respect to the other sexual risk outcomes. Theoretical implications, as well as implications for HIV/STD prevention among high sensation seekers and impulsive decision-makers, are discussed.