COGNITIONS OF GAY AND BISEXUAL MEN IN SEXUAL SITUATIONS - DEVELOPMENTOF THE SEX AND AIDS THOUGHT SCALE (SATS)

To examine the domain of thoughts experienced by gay men prior to and during sexual activity, the Sex and AIDS Thought Scale (SATS) was deve loped using a sample of 203 gay men. Principal components analysis rev ealed four factors, each with high internal consistency, that were lab eled Safety Consciousness, Risk Justification, Sexual Importance, and Interpersonal Consequences. Correlations between SATS subscales and pa st condom use were calculated separately for intercourse with partners who either recently tested HIV negative (lower-risk partner) or did n ot (higher-risk partner). Correlational analyses revealed that, for hi gher-risk partners, Risk Justification and Interpersonal Consequences were significantly correlated with condom use during insertive and rec eptive intercourse. As anticipated, correlational analyses involving l ower-risk partners yielded generally lower and non-significant correla tions, providing evidence that the failure to account for perceived pa rtner serostatus may attenuate the observed correlations between psych osocial variables and AIDS-relevant condom use. Implications for AIDS research and treatment are discussed.