Women's Alcohol Sensitivity Predicts Alcohol‐Related Regretted Sex

Background Low sensitivity (LS) to alcohol's acute effects is a known risk factor for heavy drinking and its negative consequences. However, LS could be protective due to LS drinkers being less impaired at a given level of consumption. Here, we tested whether LS is associated with differences in men's and women's reports of alcohol‐related regretted sex. Methods Eight hundred and one young adults (393 women) aged 21 to 35 (M = 23.11 years) recruited for a study of alcohol's effects on cognition completed self‐report measures of alcohol sensitivity, typical alcohol use, and alcohol consequences (including regretted sex). Results Participants whose alcohol sensitivity scores classified them as LS were more likely to experience alcohol‐related regretted sex than were high‐sensitivity (HS) participants. However, when controlling for typical alcohol use and experience of alcohol consequences in general, alcohol sensitivity was negatively associated with risk of alcohol‐related regretted sex, but only among women. Conclusions At a given level of consumption, and controlling for experience of alcohol consequences other than regretted sex, reduced sensitivity to certain effects of alcohol may be a protective factor for women against risk for alcohol‐related regretted sexual situations. This study provides insight on the unique risks of drinking among LS and HS women. Low sensitivity (LS) to alcohol was associated with increased risk for alcohol‐related regretted sex. When controlling for typical drinking, however, a significant Alcohol Sensitivity × Sex interaction showed that LS was associated with decreased risk for regretted sex, relative to high sensitivity, but only in women. So, although LS was positively associated with experiencing sex later regretted, when controlling for typical alcohol consumption, LS was negatively associated with reports of alcohol‐related regretted sex among women.