Prior research and theory suggest that adolescents often experiment with substances to acquire desired social images. However, little research has addressed the developmental precursors leading to favorable evaluation of substance users. This study tested a model of parental and peer influence on adolescent prototypes using a longitudinal data set of 463 rural adolescents. For both drinking and smoking, positive prototypes of substance users were best predicted by peer affiliations. Adolescents who affiliated with peers who practiced and encouraged substance use developed more positive prototypes of people who drink and smoke. These social images, in turn, predicted subsequent use of alcohol and cigarettes. In contrast to peers, parents had little direct influence on prototypes but did indirectly affect images through the adolescents' choice of peers. Unexpectedly, there was evidence of a negative modeling effect of parental substance use, such that parental smoking predicted more negative prototypes.A great deal of research in social psychology suggests that individuals have well-elaborated images of the type of people who engage in different health risks. Examples would be one's image of the typical heroin addict as "a dangerous criminal,** the alcoholic as "disorganized and depressed," or the chain smoker as

This article reports 2 studies testing the hypothesis that individuals with high self-esteem are more likely than those with low self-esteem to interpret information about their personal vulnerability to health risks in a self-serving manner. Study 1 used an experimental paradigm to demonstrate that self-esteem moderates the influence of review of sexual and contraceptive behavior on college women's perceptions of vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy (N = 125). Study 2 used a longitudinal design to demonstrate that self-esteem also moderates the relation between naturally occurring changes in college women's sexual behavior and changes in their risk perception (N = 273). Together, these studies provide evidence that people with high self-esteem use self-serving cognitive strategies to maintain their risk perceptions.

This study investigated the influence of sexual double standards on perceptions of targets experiencing illness. Sexual transmission was predicted to result in greater stigmatization. A Target Gender X Illness Transmission interaction was hypothesized, such that female targets with sexually transmitted illness (e.g., STI) would be stigmatized and social rejected more than male STI targets or targets with nonsexual illness (e.g., NSI). Undergraduate students from the southeastern United States (n=151) read descriptions of targets diagnosed with an illness transmitted nonsexually or sexually. Results confirmed sexual transmission led to more negative perceptions of the illness and target; a Target Gender X Illness Transmission interaction influenced social rejection. Qualitative data demonstrated participant gender and illness transmission mode affected anticipated emotional and social reactions.

Past field research has demonstrated the devastating impact of illness stigma on patient populations; experimental studies have identified specific illness characteristics that influence stigmatization and social rejection of patients. The current study used a quasi-experimental design to investigate the influence of participant erotophobia-erotophilia (Fisher, Byrne, & White, 1983) and illness transmission (nonsexual, sexual) on perceptions of illness and patients. Sexual illness transmission led to significantly more negative perceptions of the illness and patient. A significant Erotophobia-Erotophilia x Nonsexual-Sexual Transmission interaction influenced participants' social rejection of the patient. Specifically, erotophobes socially rejected patients with the sexually transmitted illness more than patients with the nonsexual illness.

Young adults frequently use alcohol prior to engaging in sexual activity (Grello, Welsh, & Harper, 2006) possibly due to expectancies relating to alcohol use and sexuality. When women engage in alcohol-use behaviors they are likely to be perceived as sexually available and promiscuous (Blume, 1991;Parks & Scheidt, 2000). The current study examined the relationships between young women's feminine gender-role attributes, erotophobia-erotophilia, and endorsement of sexually-related alcohol expectancies. Using surveys and focus groups, we investigated perceptions of the relationship between alcohol use and women's sexuality. Findings demonstrated a negative relationship between feminine gender-role and sexually-related alcohol expectancies. Free-response data indicated that sexual motives contributed to alcohol use. Participants emphasized that alcohol lowered inhibitions and increased the likelihood of engaging in sexual behaviors. Erotophobia-erotophilia influenced the pattern of qualitative response themes such that erotophobes were more likely to emphasize that alcohol contributed to increased sexual confidence and decreased nervousness.