Decision making and personality factors in sexual risk-taking for HIV/AIDS: A theoretical integration

A number of studies have demonstrated reliable associations between sexual behaviors that place people at risk for HIV infection and personality traits related to: (1) sensation seeking and impulsivity, (2) Eysenckʹs extraversion-introversion and psychoticism scales, and (3) the emotional and behavioral capacity to negotiate safer sex with a partner. The present paper provides a model-based synthesis of the existing literature on personality factors in sexual risk-taking for HIV. Existing findings are summarized and integrated within the conceptual framework afforded by a simple model of sexual decision making, yielding a theoretical unification of personality factors, cognitive processes, and explicit behavior. Implications of this model and the existing literature on personality and sexual risk-taking are discussed with regard to both HIV/AIDS prevention efforts and the direction of future research.