The association between monetary and sexual delay discounting and risky sexual behavior in an online sample of men who have sex with men.

Delay discounting is a measure of impulsivity that has been found to be associated with numerous health-related outcomes. To the extent that delay discounting is associated with sexual risk-taking, it might serve as a marker for HIV risk or as the basis for novel HIV prevention interventions. The goal of the current study was to examine the association between monetary and sexual delay discounting and condomless anal intercourse (CAI) in a cross-sectional sample of men who have sex with men. Based on previous findings, we examined whether these associations were age-dependent. Sexual, but not monetary, delay discounting was found to be associated with CAI in the past 12 months. These results suggest that delay discounting is associated with sexual risk-taking. More high risk sexual behaviors and their associations with delay discounting should be investigated in the future.