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Heavy Drinking, Conduct Disorder Linked to High-Risk Sexual Behavior |
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From EurekAlert! - Breaking News: Psychiatry researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis have found that a clinical diagnosis of alcohol dependence in young adults is associated with having a high number of sex partners. The study, published in the December issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, also found links between a conduct disorder diagnosis and high numbers of sexual partners as well as between problem drinking and more partners. Alcohol dependence is an excessive use of alcohol that's harmful to physical and mental health. Others may drink only sporadically but consume large amounts of alcohol when they do drink. This study focused specifically on the number of partners, and it defines high risk using a larger number than typically seen in the psychiatric literature. "To my knowledge, most research in young adults has used a standard of 'up to six' sex partners when examining risk," Cavazos-Rehg says. "We categorized these subjects according to three levels of alcohol involvement --- non-dependent, problem drinking and alcohol dependent --- and demonstrated how a stepwise increase from non-dependence to problematic alcohol use to alcohol dependence is associated with a higher number of sexual partners," says Cavazos-Rehg. Personnel at STD clinics also might want to ask patients about their alcohol use and provide referrals to alcohol-related treatment centers. This research was supported by grants from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked fourth in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.
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