How people think and feel influences how they behave. Psychological factors such as risk perception, personality characteristics, and psychological states influence the extent to which people engage in high- or low-risk behaviors.
People who think AIDS is a relatively minor or remote problem are less likely to take steps to reduce their risks. In addition, people who think that they personally are not at risk for HIV infection are more likely to engage in risky behaviors.
Other psychological risk factors, including personality characteristics such as low self-esteem, narcissism (preoccupation with the self), antisocial personality, impulsivity (the tendency to do things suddenly, without thinking about the consequences of the action), tendency to take risks, and tendency to seek out new sensations, are related to sexual risk-taking behavior (Kalichman, 1998). Coping responses also influence risk behavior. To escape from or relieve stress, some people engage in high-risk sexual behaviors or use drugs and alcohol, just as others may smoke cigarettes or overeat (Kalichman, 1998; Zierler & Krieger, 2000).
Discussion question: Why might low self-esteem be associated with a higher risk for HIV?
Psychological disorders such as personality disorders, self-destructive behaviors, hypersexuality, sexual obsession and compulsivity, depression, anxiety, and negative states of mind (eg, anger, pessimism) are associated with high-risk sexual behaviors with multiple partners (Kalichman, 1998). They are also associated with drug abuse and addiction, which can increase HIV risk through needle sharing and through decreasing the likelihood that safer-sex practices (such as condom use) will be used.
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