1. SEX DIFFERENCES IN SEX-RELATED ALCOHOL EXPECTANCIES AND SEXUAL SENSATION SEEKING AS PREDICTORS OF CONDOM USE Manthos, M., Schacht, R.L., & George, W.H. Department of Psychology, University of Washington BACKGROUND Sexual sensation seeking predicts risky sexual behavior in men and women (Kalichman & Rompa, 1995). Alcohol consumption has also been linked with risky sexual behavior in both sexes (George & Stoner, 2000). Sex-related alcohol expectancies for sexual risk-taking have been shown to be stronger for men than for women (Dermen & Cooper, 1994). We evaluated the relationships among sexual sensation seeking, sex-related alcohol expectancies, and condom use for men and women. Participants 135 men and 156 women from an urban community Age 21-35 years (M = 25, SD = 4) Ethnicity:  72% European American  11% multi-racial or other  7% Hispanic/Latino  6% African American  4% Asian American Participants reported being social, non-problem drinkers who were not in a committed relationship but who were interested in dating members of the opposite sex. RESULTS Regression-based path analyses showed that higher sexual sensation seeking scores predicted less frequent condom use for both sexes (women: β = -.263, p =.001; men: β = -.183, p =.016; Figures 1 and 2). When sex-related alcohol expectancy scores were introduced into the model, this relationship became nonsignificant for men (β = -.117, p=.179; Figure 1). For women, the link between sexual sensation seeking and condom use weakened but remained significant when alcohol expectancy scores were added to the model (β = -.21, p =.009; Figure 2). DISCUSSION These findings support previous work suggesting that attitudes toward sex and alcohol may play a role in condom use, and that these roles are different for men and women. High levels of sexual sensation seeking predicted less frequent condom use for men and women. For men, this relationship became nonsignificant when alcohol expectancies were added to the model. Sex-related alcohol expectancies also predicted less frequent condom use for both men and women. This relationship was stronger for men. The role of alcohol expectancies may be more important for men than women for predicting safe sex behavior. These findings also imply that sexual sensation seeking may operate as a broad construct to predict secondary attitudes, such as alcohol expectancies, towards sexuality. Further study of sex differences in these attitudes is warranted, particularly in the context of HIV/AIDS and STI prevention and education. Measures Sexual Sensation Seeking scale (Kalichman & Rompa, 1995)  Assesses sensation seeking related to sexual interests and activities Sex-Related Alcohol Expectancies scale (Dermen & Cooper, 1994)  Assesses expectancies about the effect of alcohol on sexual feelings and behavior Five questions measuring condom use within the last year  α =.673 for women and.765 for men METHOD All data were collected from background questionnaires completed as part of a larger study involving alcohol intoxication, risky sexual behavior, and genital measures of sexual responding. Supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) Grant #AA13565 William H. George, P.I. Contact: mmanthos@u.washington.edu Annual meeting of the International Academy of Sex Research, Vancouver, BC, August 2007