MAKING DECISIONS ABOUT SEXUAL INTERCOURSE - CAPTURING COLLEGE-STUDENTS POLICIES

Policy capturing was used to assess the cues that affect college stude nts' decisions about whether to engage in sexual intercourse. Particip ants read a series of scenarios describing a potential sexual encounte r between the participant and a hypothetical date. For each scenario, participants judged the frequency with which they would engage in inte rcourse in that situation. The scenes varied the levels of five indepe ndent variables: the duration of relationship, knowledge of the date's sexual history, whether the couple had been drinking, whether interco urse was anticipated, and condom availability. The results show that i ntentions to engage in sexual intercourse are shaped by identifiable c ues. Almost all participants indicated that condom availability was a major factor. For some, relationship duration and information about pr evious partners also influenced judgments. Differences in policies for men and women were evident. The findings are considered in the contex t of potential AIDS-prevention strategies.