Self-efficacy and HIV testing among Latino emerging adults: examining the moderating effects of distress tolerance and sexual risk behaviors
Daisy Ramírez‐Ortiz, Diana M. Sheehan, Gladys E. Ibañez, Boubakari Ibrahimou, Mario De La Rosa, Miguel Ángel Cano
Abstract
Latino emerging adults in the United States are at a high risk of HIV and have a low prevalence of HIV testing. This study examined the association between self-efficacy for HIV testing, distress tolerance and lifetime history of HIV testing, and tested the moderating effect of distress tolerance and sexual risk behaviors on the association between self-efficacy and lifetime history of HIV testing. Data were collected from a cross-sectional sample of 157 Latino emerging adults aged 18–25 using an online survey and were analyzed using hierarchical logistic regression and moderation analyses. We found that 62.8% of those engaging in sexual risk behaviors had ever been tested for HIV. Participants that reported higher levels of self-efficacy (aOR=3.49, 95%CI: 1.78–6.83) were more likely to have ever been tested for HIV in their lifetime. There was a statistically significant three-way interaction among self-efficacy for HIV testing, distress tolerance and sexual risk behaviors (b=2.76, 95%CI: .52, 5.00, p=.016). This interaction suggests that among those that reported any sexual risk behaviors, higher levels of self-efficacy were associated with lifetime history of HIV testing only at higher levels of distress tolerance. Further research is warranted to determine how self-efficacy and distress tolerance work together among high-risk groups to promote HIV testing.