Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is a significant and understudied public health problem among sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual couples, yet little is known about factors that contribute to IPSV perpetration. This proposal aims to determine the acute effect of alcohol and sexual communication on IPSV. In this study, 240 couples (50% SM) who drink alcohol will be recruited from the Metro-Denver area. Upon arrival to the laboratory, a trained research assistant will check the participant's ID, verify that they adhered to the pre-session guidelines, administer a breath test to ensure a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of 0.00 and conduct a field sobriety test. They will also obtain informed consent for each member of the couple separately. Female participants will take a pregnancy test to ensure a negative result. All participants will complete measures to reverify eligibility criteria and be weighed to determine their correct alcohol dose. Partners will separately complete a baseline survey measuring demographic factors, alcohol use, sexual communication, and daily experiences. After completing the survey, participants will be assigned a beverage condition (alcohol or no-alcohol control) and couples will be randomly assigned to a sexual communication condition (direct verbal or indirect verbal). Participants will be seated in a room separate from their partner, where they will drink an alcoholic or no-alcohol control beverage. Upon reaching a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of .08, or immediately after drinking in the No-Alcohol control condition, participants will complete a laboratory assessment of sexual violence. The main hypotheses are: (1) one's alcohol use will increase IPSV toward partners who are also drinking, (2) one's alcohol use will increase IPSV among partners who use indirect, relative to direct, sexual communication, and (3) actor alcohol use will increase IPSV toward partners who are also drinking and use indirect, relative to direct, sexual communication.
Intimate Partner Sexual Violence (IPSV) is a significant and understudied public health problem among sexual minority (SM) and heterosexual couples, yet little is known about factors that contribute to IPSV perpetration. This proposal aims to determine the acute effect of alcohol and sexual communication on IPSV. In this study, 240 couples (50% SM) who drink alcohol will be recruited from the Metro-Denver area. Upon arrival to the laboratory, a trained research assistant will check the participant's ID, verify that they adhered to the pre-session guidelines, administer a breath test to ensure a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of 0.00 and conduct a field sobriety test. They will also obtain informed consent for each member of the couple separately. Female participants will take a pregnancy test to ensure a negative result. All participants will complete measures to reverify eligibility criteria and be weighed to determine their correct alcohol dose. Partners will separately complete a baseline survey measuring demographic factors, alcohol use, sexual communication, and daily experiences. After completing the survey, participants will be assigned a beverage condition (alcohol or no-alcohol control) and couples will be randomly assigned to a sexual communication condition (direct verbal or indirect verbal). Participants will be seated in a room separate from their partner, where they will drink an alcoholic or no-alcohol control beverage. Upon reaching a breath alcohol content (BrAC) of .08, or immediately after drinking in the No-Alcohol control condition, participants will complete a laboratory assessment of sexual violence. The main hypotheses are: (1) one's alcohol use will increase IPSV toward partners who are also drinking, (2) one's alcohol use will increase IPSV among partners who use indirect, relative to direct, sexual communication, and (3) actor alcohol use will increase IPSV toward partners who are also drinking and use indirect, relative to direct, sexual communication.
Alcohol and Sexual Communication Among Couples in the Laboratory
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University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80045
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.
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21 Years to 65 Years
ALL
Yes
University of Colorado, Denver,
2028-02