Purpose: To examine the relationship between alcohol use and sexual activity in a sample of young adults.
Design: Data were collected as part of a 1990 survey of a multistage area household probability sample.
Setting: In-home interviews were conducted by experienced interviewers.
Subjects: In total, 1006 persons from 18 to 30 years of age living in the contiguous United States were contacted.
Measures: Detailed information was collected on alcohol use and sexual behavior. To minimize the reluctance of respondents to answer queries on sexual behavior, those questions were contained in a self-administered questionnaire.
Results: At the population level, having had multiple sexual partners in the past year was more likely among men who consumed five or more drinks per sitting. Condom use was less likely among respondents who had consumed five or more drinks on at least one occasion in the past year. In multivariate analyses, the amount of alcohol consumed at the new partner event was not associated with condom use with a new partner. When the effects of other demographic and psychosocial factors were removed, the number of drinks consumed during the heaviest drinking event was a significant predictor of engaging in sex for women but not for men.
Conclusion: In young adults, alcohol use with sex does not necessarily lead directly to lapses in judgment about safe sexual practices. Alcohol is but one of a number of factors that play an important role in determining the riskiness of a particular sexual encounter.