Background: Impulsivity is a widely utilized construct that has been suggested to be associated with risk behaviors in the general population, such as psychoactive substance consumption and risky sexual behavior. Objective: To determine a possible association between risky sexual behaviors and psychoactive substance consumption with impulsivity in healthcare students. Methods: An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted. Participants completed a digital instrument that included questions on sociodemographic variables, CAGE, DAST-10, BIS-15S, DASS-21 questionnaires, and risky sexual behavior scale (ESR), developed using the Delphi method. Multivariate models were employed to assess the strength of the association between impulsivity and risk behaviors while controlling for other variables. Results: A total of 229 subjects from various fields were evaluated. The majority were women (69.4%; n=159) with a mean age of 20.5 years. 11.4% (n=26) were categorized as high risk of psychoactive substance abuse, 23.6% (n=54) as problematic alcohol consumption, and an average of 4.29 sexual risk behaviors per individual were reported. All outcomes showed positive associations with other risk behaviors. Problematic alcohol consumption was associated with the anxiety subscale of the DASS-21. Substance consumption was associated with male gender, the total score of the BIS-15S, and the interaction of this with age. Lastly, ESR was associated with age and BIS-15S. Discussion: Self-reported impulsivity was associated with psychoactive substance consumption and risky sexual behavior. Associations were observed among risk behaviors, suggesting an important relationship between them.
