Prevalence of Alcohol-Related Regretted Sexual Experiences: A Scoping Review
Creators: name: Moran, James
name: Morgan-Daniel, Jane
name: Hone, Liana Senneth Elliott
Publisher: name: Open Science Framework
Year: 2022
Subjects: subject: Social and Behavioral Sciences
subject: alcohol-related sexual regret

description: Objective: The primary objective of this scoping review is to compile a comprehensive list of studies that report on the prevalence of alcohol-related sexual regret among college aged students. This prevalence information will assist future research studies designed to test targeted interventions for alcohol consequences. Introduction: Alcohol-related regretted sex encompasses a wide range of consequences that are evaluated negatively upon reflection (e.g., failing to use birth control) and has been linked to an increase in anxiety, depression, and trauma symptoms (Peterson et al., 2021; Wesche, Claxton, &amp; Waterman, 2020). Some studies suggest approximately 60% to 80% of college students have experienced regretted sex in their lifetime (Garcia, Reiber, Massey, &amp; Merriwether, 2012; Kuperberg &amp; Padgett, 2016; Wesche, Claxton, &amp; Waterman, 2020; Oswalt et al., 2005), but no scoping/systematic reviews of prevalence yet exist. Moreover, given the gender differences in positive and negative evaluations of casual sex and hookups, costs associated with alcohol-related sex, and mental health consequences associated with casual sex and hookups, it is likely that men and women experience alcohol-related regretted sex at different rates. This scoping review will identify studies that document the pervasiveness among college students, as well as gender differences therein. Inclusion criteria: We will include RCTs, or equivalent, intervention studies, observational and correlational survey designs for alcohol-related sexual regret. Participants must be adolescents, and young adults between the ages of 15 and 25 enrolled in colleges/universities. We will target studies with participants recruited from higher education institutions, such as 2-year community colleges, trade schools, 4-year colleges/universities, minority-serving institutions (MSIs), and predominantly white institutions (PWIs) in the United States. Methods: We will search the databases Embase (Elsevier), PsycINFO (EBSCOhost), Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection (EBSCOhost), PubMed, and Web of Science (Clarivate Analytics) until 2022 and limit our search to English language experimental studies, and observational studies. Literature search results will be uploaded into Zotero and manually de-duplicated before being uploaded into Covidence for screening. The team will develop and test screening questions and assessment forms based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Articles that appear to meet study criteria based on title and abstract screening will have full-text articles uploaded into Covidence for further screening by the study team. Two or more reviewers will independently screen the titles and abstracts from the initial literature search against the inclusion criteria. Two or more reviewers will then screen full-text articles for approved articles independently. Any discrepancies about inclusion will be resolved by discussion or by an additional reviewer. Reviewer teams will extract data independently and duplicate it from each eligible study using an online extraction form. This form will be piloted and calibrated with all reviewers prior to formal data extraction. Discrepancies about extraction will be resolved by discussion, and a third reviewer will be brought into the discussion if necessary. We will contact the study authors to resolve any uncertainties in the review process.