| Literature DB >> 35784207 |
Tom Platteau1,2, Eric Florence1, John B F de Wit3.
Abstract
Few theory-informed interventions to support people who use drugs during sex have been conceptualized and developed. We conceptualize sexualized drug use, also referred to as chemsex or pharmacosex, as a self-control challenge, and draw on extant theory and research to propose intervention approaches that can be tailored to meet the differing needs of people who engage in sexualized drug use. We draw on a continuum perspective of sexualized drug use, in particular chemsex, and discuss the role of reasoned and automatic processes in behavioral decisions, as well as critical components of effective self-control of behavior. A self-control approach can empower people to tackle their sexualized drug use, and classify their experienced sex-related drug use as problematic. Self-control encompasses clarifying one's goals and identifying strategies to mitigate behaviors to achieve these goals, despite competing pharmacosex desires. Our approach to self-control sexualized drug use contains three critical components: goal setting, goal enactment, and goal progress appraisal and goal adjustment. Goals should be formulated specific, ambitious yet realistic, and tailored to the individual's needs and wishes. Goals may target aspects of drug use, protecting sexual health and mitigating negative impacts. Implementing goal enactment implies translating goals into concrete (short-term) actions to move toward the higher-order goal via goal intentions and action/coping plans. During the goal progress appraisal and adjustment stage, people compare their actual with their planned behavior. This reflection may result in goal adjustment through feedback loops to adjust their goals and action/coping plans. We propose that our self-control approach can guide the development of interventions to effectively support people to prevent or limit pharmacosex, and helps to effectively mitigate or reduce negative impacts via self-help, peer support or professional support, offered via personal counseling or digital tools.Entities:
Keywords: care and support; chemsex; conceptual framework; pharmacosex; self-control
Mesh:
Year: 2022 PMID: 35784207 PMCID: PMC9240261 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.894415
Source DB: PubMed Journal: Front Public Health ISSN: 2296-2565
Figure 1Self-control approach of sexualized drug use support.
Examples of goal intentions, action plans and coping plans for the self-control of sexualized drug use and to mitigate potential health and social impacts.
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| Goal intention | I only want to use my own GHB throughout the event | I want to contribute to reducing the risk of STI in my community | I want to ensure that chemsex does not interfere with my job performance |
| Action plans | If I plan going to a chemsex event, I will order GHB to take it with me | If I contract an STI, I will inform my sexual partners | If I plan an event on Saturday, I will have sufficient time to recover by Monday |
| Coping plans | To avoid running out of GHB too fast, I will keep a log of when I'm taking GHB | To avoid feelings of shame, I will make use of an online tool to notify my partners anonymously | To avoid losing track of time, I set an alarm on my phone to remind me to go home |