ABSTRACT

Regulatory focus theory contends that when making decisions people are either more inclined to focus on avoiding negative consequences (more prevention-focused) or achieving pleasurable outcomes (more promotion-focused). Some research suggests that regulatory focus is related to health behaviors, although this has not been thoroughly investigated in the sexual health domain. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between regulatory focus (prevention, promotion) and sexual health. In an online survey of 409 youth from the U.S. (ages = 18–25; M_age = 23.5; 57.2% women; 74.1% White, 13.4% Asian, 10.5% Black, 9.8% Hispanic), we examined the relationship between regulatory focus and three sexual health outcomes: condom use, STI/HIV testing, and sexual satisfaction. Of youth in our sample, 31.8% had a dominant prevention-focus, while 54.8% had a dominant promotion-focus. Compared to youth who were more promotion-focused, more prevention-focused youth used condoms more frequently but reported less sexual satisfaction. No differences were found in rates of STI/HIV testing. This study lays the groundwork to investigate the dynamic role that regulatory focus may play in contributing to youths’ sexual health. More experimental and longitudinal studies are needed to confirm the causal nature of the association between regulatory focus and sexual health.

摘要

监管焦点理论认为，在做出决策时，人们要么更倾向于关注避免负面后果（更注重预防），要么更倾向于实现令人愉悦的结果（更注重提升）。一些研究表明，监管重点与健康行为有关，尽管这在性健康领域尚未得到彻底调查。本研究的目的是检查监管重点（预防、促进）与性健康之间的关系。在对来自美国的 409 名青年（年龄 = 18-25； M_年龄）进行的在线调查中 = 23.5; 57.2% 女性；74.1% 白人、13.4% 亚裔、10.5% 黑人、9.8% 西班牙裔），我们研究了监管重点与三种性健康结果之间的关系：安全套使用、性传播感染/艾滋病毒检测和性满意度。在我们的样本中，31.8% 的青少年以预防为主，而 54.8% 的青少年以促进为主。与更注重宣传的青年相比，更注重预防的青年更频繁地使用安全套，但报告的性满意度较低。STI/HIV 检测率没有发现差异。本研究为调查监管焦点在促进青少年性健康方面可能发挥的动态作用奠定了基础。需要更多的实验和纵向研究来确认监管重点与性健康之间关联的因果性质。