People go to bars to find someone; whether it is for a fling or a long-term relationship, people flock to these establishments to have a good time. Most of the time though, people who go to bars are looking for either alcohol or a hook up, or both. But a new study might change the minds of those who drink alcohol and look for sex.

According to a study done principal investigator Dr. J. Rehm, alcohol consumption is directly related to a person's intention to have unsafe sex, leading to sexual transmitted diseases and HIV.

The most common way of getting infected with HIV is through unsafe sex, and despite global efforts of awareness and educational campaigns to prevent this, countries like the United States and the United Kingdom still have high incidences of HIV. Even worse, in some cases, it has increased.

With that in mind, researchers and experts have been looking for the root cause of HIV incidence; if it is either heavy drinking, or certain personality traits in individuals such as sensation-seeking or a disposition to risky behavior in general.

But the debate as to what the root cause has been put to rest after Rehm, along with colleagues, summarized the results of 12 experiments that tested various factors that lead to HIV incidence.

In the study, participants were randomly placed in one of two groups, with one group drinking alcohol and the other not drinking. Then, their intention to engage in unsafe sex was measured.

Under these parameters, researchers discovered that with every increase in blood alcohol level of 0.1 mg/mL resulted in an increase of 5% in the likelihood of engaging in unprotected sex.

Based on these findings, alcohol consumption affects decision-making, and that this impact arises with the amount of alcohol consumed - the more alcohol consumed, the higher the willingness to engage in unsafe sex.

With these results, the researchers noted that drinking's casual effect on the likelihood to engage in unsafe sex should be noted as a major factor in preventive efforts for HIV.

Since relationship between sex and alcohol consumption has long been established, there have been other studies conducted to see the sexual effects of alcohol. According to Cory Silverberg of About.com, drinking alcohol has both short and long term effects.

For short term effects, studies have found that alcohol can remove a person's inhibitions; make them feel more socially confident for sexual communication; and can increase sexual desire and arousal. While for long term effects of alcohol, men can experience erectile disorders or dysfunctions; can significantly decrease sexual arousal; and can lead to difficulty experiencing orgasm for men and women.