Alcohol consumption and unsafe sexual behavior in discrete events

Recent studies with samples of homosexual men have demonstrated that drinking in conjunction with sexual activity is strongly related to unsafe sexual activities known to increase the risk of AIDS transmission. Most existing studies have assessed the relationship of general measures of drinking and general frequency of risky sexual activities. Such a design, however, does not establish that drinking and risky behaviors occurred on the same occasion. In this study, adult respondents were asked about the circumstances of two sexual encounters: their most recent sexual experience and their most recent encounter involving a new sexual partner. The characteristics of encounters that involved and did not involve drinking are described. The results showed that encounters with new partners were more likely to involve alcohol, but that the presence of alcohol was not significantly associated with risky sexual activity. These findings suggest that analyses of event‐specific data illuminate a different aspect of the drinking/sex link.