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Sexual decision-making in young adults continues to present challenges for public health and social science researchers more than three decades after the first HIV epidemic. The objective of this chapter is to identify relevant social and cognitive factors that may influence decision-making about risky sexual behavior in young adults. More specifically, the chapter focuses on our research on sexual decision-making among heterosexual urban college students in a high-risk HIV/AIDS community. Participants completed two weeks of daily sexual encounter diaries, followed by in-depth interviews. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used to analyze the data. Results showed that participants’ decisions about the use of condoms varied by particular social factors, such as partner influence and condom use attitudes; and cognitive factors, such as perceptions of relationship status and HIV/STD risk assessment. Participants’ justification of their behavior differentiated higher- from lower- risk individuals. The findings suggest that in order to intervene effectively with higher-risk individuals, it is important to understand the nature of the evidence used to make decisions and the conditions under which these decisions change. Risky decision-making in the context of education, the role of technology, and adequate interventions are discussed. |
