Sexual attitudes, cognitive associative networks, and perceived
vulnerability to unplanned pregnancy.
Gabie E. Smith, Tami J. Eggleston, Meg Gerrard, Frederick X.
Gibbons
(1996) Journal of Research in Personality, 30, 88-102.
This article reports 2 studies testing the hypothesis that
individuals with high self-esteem are more likely than those with low
self-esteem to interpret information about their personal vulnerability to
health risks in a self-serving manner. Study 1 used an experimental paradigm to
demonstrate that self-esteem moderates the influence of review of sexual and
contraceptive behavior on college women’s perceptions of vulnerability to
unplanned pregnancy (N=125). Study 2 used a longitudinal design to demonstrate
that self-esteem also moderates the relation between naturally occurring
changes in college women’s sexual behavior and changes in their risk perception
(N=273). Together, these studies provide evidence that people with high
self-esteem use self-serving cognitive strategies to maintain their risk
perceptions.