Cognitions of gay and bisexual men in sexual situations: development of the sex and AIDS Thought Scale (SATS).

To examine the domain of thoughts experienced by gay men prior to and during sexual activity, the Sex and AIDS Thought Scale (SATS) was developed using a sample of 203 gay men. Principal components analysis revealed four factors, each with high internal consistency, that were labeled Safety Consciousness, Risk Justification, Sexual Importance, and Interpersonal Consequences. Correlations between SATS subscales and past condom use were calculated separately for intercourse with partners who either recently tested HIV negative (lower-risk partner) or did not (higher-risk partner). Correlational analyses revealed that, for higher-risk partners, Risk Justification and Interpersonal Consequences were significantly correlated with condom use during insertive and receptive intercourse. As anticipated, correlational analyses involving lower-risk partners yielded generally lower and non-significant correlations, providing evidence that the failure to account for perceived partner serostatus may attenuate the observed correlations between psychosocial variables and AIDS-relevant condom use. Implications for AIDS research and treatment are discussed.