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Eroticizing Creates Safer Sex: A Research Synthesis

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This meta-analytic review examined the effectiveness of sexual risk reduction interventions in 21 studies (N=5,015) that integrated a safer sex eroticization component. Compared to controls, intervention participants exhibited lower sexual risk on 6 dimensions: HIV-related knowledge, attitudes toward condoms, condom use, overall behavioral risk, communication with sexual partners, and sexual frequency. Additional analyses examined pre- to post-test outcomes and showed significant improvement in condom use in the intervention compared to the control groups. Overall, findings suggest that eroticizing safer sex leads to more risk-preventive attitudes, which in turn facilitates less risky sexual behavior.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grant R01-MH58563 to Blair T. Johnson. We thank the following study authors and associates who provided additional intervention details or data: Gregory M. Rebchook, Ph.D., Beatrice J. Krauss, Ph.D., B. R. Simon Rosser, Ph.D., Catherine Sanderson, Ph.D., and Cathy Struckman-Johnson, Ph.D. We thank Marcella B. Boynton, MA, Page Jerzak, Ph.D., Jessica M. La Croix, BA, I-Ching Lee, MS, Kerry L. Marsh, Ph.D., and Allecia E. Reid, BA, for assistance in preparing and in organizing the study data.

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Correspondence to Lori A. J. Scott-Sheldon.

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Scott-Sheldon, L.A.J., Johnson, B.T. Eroticizing Creates Safer Sex: A Research Synthesis. J Primary Prevent 27, 619–640 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10935-006-0059-3

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