Women, men, and condoms: attitudes and experiences of heterosexual college students

Contextualized Experiences and Predictors of Condom Use in a Flemish Population: A Mixed Methods Study

This study aims to address the gap in understanding condom use (CU) behavior in Flanders (the Dutch-speaking community in Belgium) by applying a mixed methods approach, integrating both quantitative and qualitative data. Utilizing a large-scale survey of over 14,000 participants and 11 in-depth interviews, the study explores key factors influencing CU, including (amongst others) relationship status, attitudes toward condoms, and STI testing. Quantitative findings highlight significant predictors such as the type of partner (casual vs. steady), STI testing behaviors, and negative attitudes toward condoms. Qualitative insights further reveal personal experiences that complicate CU decisions, such as the disruption of sexual flow and emotional dynamics within relationships. These findings underscore the complexity of CU behavior, showing that practical barriers (e.g., discomfort, fit) and personal beliefs play pivotal roles. The study concludes that targeted public health interventions could focus on improving condom accessibility and addressing both practical and emotional factors. Recommendations for sexual health education include promoting communication around CU and enhancing condom experimentation and fit. These findings contribute valuable insights into enhancing sexual health outcomes through more nuanced, contextualized approaches to condom use.

Acceptability of a Computer-Tailored Safer Sex Intervention for Heterosexually Active African Americans Attending an STI Clinic

Since African Americans are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS, interventions that increase correct and consistent condom use are urgently needed. We report baseline acceptability data from a randomized controlled trial (RCT) testing the Tailored Information Program for Safer Sex, a computer-tailored intervention designed to increase correct and consistent condom use among low income, heterosexually active African Americans attending an urban sexually transmitted infection (STI) clinic. We enrolled 274 participants at baseline in an RCT-147 in the intervention group. The intervention had high acceptability, with a mean acceptability of 4.35 on a 5-point scale. We conducted a multiple regression analysis examining demographic, structural, and sexual risk characteristics that revealed only sex to be significantly (p < .01) associated with intervention acceptability. While women were more likely than men to find the intervention acceptable, overall the results indicated broad acceptability of this intervention to the target audience. eHealth interventions are a viable option for HIV prevention among African Americans visiting a publicly-funded STI clinic. We discuss implications of these results for the future application of such programs.

Condoms, Trust and Stealthing: The Meanings Attributed to Unprotected Hetero-Sex

University students tend to have greater sexual health knowledge than the general public, yet condom use among this group continues to be a public health concern because effective condom use could reduce sexually transmitted infections and, for heterosexual women, unwanted pregnancies. We report findings from a small, qualitative study of condom use among sexually active heterosexual university students in the UK. In interviews, students shared their views about condom use and sometimes their personal experiences too. This paper identifies some of the meanings attributed to condom use in the accounts of nine heterosexually active 20-25 year-olds. Participants explained that when they felt comfortable communicating with their partners, they were more likely to use condoms, and those with negative sexual experiences or under social or psychological pressure were less likely to use them. The findings highlight issues of trust and power between men and women in heterosexual relationships, and describe contexts for dishonest sexual practice, including the traditional notions of femininity that were linked to condom use by this group. The issue of stealthing arose in one woman's account of her experience and in several others' reports of what occurs commonly. Stealthing, the secretive removal of a condom by a (usually male) partner during sexual intercourse without a partner's knowledge or permission, produces non-consensual unprotected sex. We present stealthing as a product of the sexual double-standards described and as a form of interpersonal violence (IPV) and, among these heterosexual partners, as a form of gender-based violence. This study provides a glimpse into university students' decision-making regarding condom use and highlights how gendered inequalities shape heterosex, in particular, communication about safer sex, that in some cases, compromise women's decisions about (safer) sex.

The Impact of Males Proposing Condom Use on Perceptions of an Initial Sexual Encounter

The authors investigated the impact of the introduction of a condom into an initial sexual encounter on the perception of the male condom proposer and the likely outcome of the sexual encounter. College students viewed a videotape depicting the development of an initial sexual encounter. Method of condom introduction (verbal, nonverbal, no condom control) was varied. Respondents evaluated the condom proposer on five characteristics (nice, mature, romantic, exciting, promiscuous). Condom proposers were perceived as nicer and more mature but less romantic and exciting than nonproposers. Women but not men perceived the proposer as nicer and more mature and less promiscuous when he introduced the condom verbally rather than nonverbally. Men but not women estimated that proposing condom use diminished the chance of sexual intercourse. Results are discussed from the perspectives of person perception, sex role stereotypes, the evolutionary perspective on mate selection, and the applied perspective of the implications for intervention.

Why Common Sense Goes Out the Window: Effects of Alcohol on Intentions to Use Condoms

Four studies tested the hypothesis that alcohol decreases the likelihood of condom use during casual sex. First, in a correlational study, it was found that among men who reported that they usually use condoms, those who were intoxicated when they last had intercourse were less likely than sober men to have used one. Further, in two laboratory experiments and one field experiment, intoxicated people reported more positive intentions to have unprotected sex than sober people. These results are consistent with alcohol myopia as introduced by Steele and associates the notion that alcohol decreases cognitive capacity, such that intoxicated people are more likely to attend to the most salient cues in a situation. Intoxicated people may focus on the perceived benefits of having intercourse rather than on the negative consequences of not using condoms. These studies provide strong evidence that alcohol causes a decrease in condom use and suggest a mechanism for that relationship.

Factors Influencing Anticipated Decisions about Sunscreen Use

The present study examined influences on the decision-making processes relevant to sun-damage preventive behaviour, namely sunscreen use. Participants were randomly assigned to a positive, a negative or a control group and underwent two successive experimental manipulations: (1) information and (2) focus.They made pre-experimental, post-information and post-focus ratings of likelihood of using sunscreen and susceptibility to skin cancer.The results suggested that decision making changes as a function of the information present, and the information which individuals focus on at the time of decision making.The findings are described with particular emphasis on the implications for future intervention strategies.

LOVE MEANS NEVER HAVING TO BE CAREFUL: The Relationship Between Reading Romance Novels and Safe Sex Behavior

According to the sexual script portrayed in romance novels, true love is demonstrated by being “swept away” in passion. To the extent that this traditional romance script influences romance readers' own sexual scripts, readers may express greater reluctance to engage in precautionary sexual health behaviors, such as using condoms. We explored the relationship between women's reading of romance novels and their attitudes toward condom use, reports of past condom use, and intention to use condoms in the future. A systematic content analysis of modern romance novels documented the extremely low incidence of portrayals of condom use in initial sexual encounters. Study 1 demonstrated that high levels of romance reading were associated with negative attitudes toward condoms and reduced intent to use condoms in the future; Study 2 showed experimentally that including safe sex elements in romance stories increased positive attitudes toward condoms and marginally increased intent to use condoms in the future.

Women's Perceptions Of Female Contraceptive Behavior: Experimental Evidence of the Sexual Double Standard

A social perception study was conducted to examine the effect of the sexual double standard on impressions of a female target. As part of a “social memory” study, 57 female undergraduates read a fictitious woman's diary describing a sexual encounter where the woman provided a condom, the man provided a condom, or the couple had unprotected intercourse. Participants made behavioral judgments and interpersonal judgments about the couple, and rated the female target on several personality traits. Women rated the target's behavior more negatively, and as more inappropriate, when she provided a condom, than when her partner provided a condom. Participants also assumed that the target's partner would feel less positive about her when she provided a condom than if he provided a condom or if they had unprotected intercourse. These results are discussed with respect to the continued existence of the sexual double standard, and its impact on women's contraceptive behavior.

Gender, Contraceptive Attitudes, and Condom Use in Adolescent Romantic Relationships: A Dyadic Approach

Although sexual risk behavior occurs in a dyadic context, most studies of adolescent sexual behavior focus on individuals. This study uses couple data (N = 488 couples) from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health to examine how partners' contraceptive attitudes correlate over time and whether male or female partners' attitudes are better predictors of condom use. Net of their own prior attitudes, partners' prior attitudes predicted both male and female adolescents' Wave 2 attitudes. This association was stronger for female than for male adolescents, suggesting that female attitudes were influenced more by males' prior attitudes than vice versa. When entered together, only male adolescents' attitudes predicted dyadic condom use. Findings suggest that male partners may have greater influence on adolescent contraceptive decisions, and that prevention programs should emphasize the relational context of sexual behavior.

Condom use and concurrent partnering among heterosexually active, African American men: a qualitative report

African Americans are overrepresented among heterosexual cases of HIV/AIDS in the USA. Inconsistent condom use and concurrent partnering are two sexual behaviors driving the heterosexual HIV epidemic in the African American community. To inform the development of an HIV prevention behavioral intervention to decrease concurrent partnering and increase condom use among African American heterosexual men, we conducted formative research, including 61 structured interviews, 5 focus groups with 25 men, and 30 in-depth qualitative interviews between July and December 2009. We used a grounded theoretical approach and categorizing strategies to code and analyze the qualitative data. Results around condom use confirmed earlier findings among heterosexual men in general: condoms diminish pleasure, interfere with erection, and symbolize infidelity. Although valued by some as a form of disease prevention and pregnancy prevention, condoms are often used only with specific types of female partners, such as new or casual partners, or due to visual risk assessment. Sex partner concurrency was described as normative and ascribed to men's "natural" desire to engage in a variety of sexual activities or their high sex drive, with little recognition of the role it plays in the heterosexual HIV epidemic. Fatherhood emerged among many men as a crucial life event and compelling motivation for reducing sexual risk behavior. Based on these results, we conclude that existing HIV prevention efforts to improve attitudes towards and motivate use of condoms either have not reached or have not been successful with African American heterosexual men. In designing behavioral interventions to decrease concurrent partnering and increase condom use, addressing negative attitudes towards condoms and partner risk assessment is critical, as is integrating novel motivational approaches related to identity as fathers and men in the African American community.

Conceptualizing women's attitudes toward condom use with the tripartite model

BACKGROUND

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2011) estimated that women represent 24% of HIV diagnoses in the United States, with most infections resulting from heterosexual contact. However, consistent condom use is highly effective in preventing the spread of HIV. The current study examined women's attitudes toward condom use and potential inconsistencies related to the conceptualization and measurement of attitudes.

METHOD

Data were collected from October 2009 through March 2010. Researchers included 556 female undergraduate students from the Southeast region of the United States. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to determine whether women's condom use attitudes were composed of an affective and a cognitive component.

RESULTS

Evidence for a two-factor model of condom use attitudes consisting of an affective and cognitive component was found, with participants reporting slightly negative feelings toward condom use but favorable beliefs about using condoms. Affect accounted for more variance (42%) than cognition (8%) in condom use attitudes. Notably, affect and cognition were differentially associated with past behavior and intentions to use condoms.

CONCLUSION

Understanding the structure of women's attitudes toward using condoms can aid in the creation of appropriate HIV prevention and condom use messaging targeted toward promoting positive attitudes and normative change. Changing women's attitudes in this manner could enhance the effectiveness of condom use interventions.

Patterns of alcohol use and expectancies predict sexual risk taking among non-problem drinking women

OBJECTIVE

Although alcohol consumption and sexual risk taking are associated, not everyone who drinks alcohol engages in risky sexual behavior. The purposes of the present study were to identify patterns of alcohol use behaviors and alcohol expectancies among women who are non-problem drinkers and to examine how these patterns are associated with indices of sexual risk.

METHOD

Data from 758 non-problem drinking women who have sex with men and were not in committed relationships were analyzed using latent profile analysis to determine patterns of alcohol use and alcohol-related expectancies.

RESULTS

Of the four patterns observed, three classes had similar alcohol-related expectancies but differed with respect to drinking behavior (moderate drinking, regular heavy episodes, and frequent heavy episodes), and the fourth class consisted of moderate drinkers with low expectancies (low expectancies). Results revealed that those in the frequent heavy episodes class had the greatest number of sexual partners in the past year and drank the most alcohol before having sex compared with the other women. Both the regular and frequent heavy episodes classes reported greater likelihood of having unprotected sex in the future, more positive beliefs about casual sex, and greater subjective intoxication before having sex than women in the moderate drinking or low expectancies classes. Women in the low expectancies class reported less positive beliefs about condoms than those in the moderate drinking and regular heavy episodes classes.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that different patterns of expectancies and drinking behaviors are associated with different indices of sexual risk taking and highlight the importance of individually tailored programs for prevention of sexually transmitted infections.

Social Representations, Risk Behaviors and AIDS

This study's interest relies on adolescents' social representations of unprotected sex, more precisely on the relationship between the attitude towards the preservative and the reason attribution for its non use. 1386 secondary school students took part in the study, in the Brazilian cities of Florianópolis, Itajaí and Balneário Camboriú. In order to verify reasons attributed by the students, we focused on the sample that had sexual experiences without using the condom during last year. Data was analyzed with software ALCESTE, which showed three different classes of explanations for the non use of the preservative: the moment of the intercourse (unpredictable and incontrollable), trust in the partner and the option of the contraceptive pill, instead of the preservatives, in avoiding pregnancy. The students' attitudes towards the preservative are less favourable among those who maintain sexual intercourse with known people. The results revealed two representations of AIDS: one of trust in the partner and another of the experience with sex and the preservative – the first one gives sense to the adolescents' experiences with known sexual partners and the second, with less known sexual partners.

Gender Differences in HIV-Related Sexual Behavior among College Students from Spain and Portugal

Under the perspective of the Theory of Planned Behavior, the objective of this study was to know the gender differences in the variables involved in the use of effective preventive measures in sexual relations against HIV in a sample of university students from Spain and Portugal. Furthermore, it is examined whether these factors produce different predictions concerning the adoption of safe sexual behaviour for young man and women in each country. The sample consisted of 683 university students, 319 Portuguese (64% female and 36% male) from the University of Algarve and 364 Spanish students (51% female and 49% male) from the University of Huelva. Data were obtained by means of a questionnaire. The data revealed that there are gender differences which apply in both countries, highlighting that the young women have more positive attitudes, greater perceived behavioural control and intention of condom use than young men. However, they protect themselves less that their male counterparts: the percentage of females who say using condoms as a contraceptive method is less than the percentage of males, and especially with their steady partners. The results are discussed in relation to gender role norms, to have a steady partner or not, gender relations, the associated meaning to sexual relations for men and women and their implications for the design of sexual educational programmes for them.

Condoms and US college-aged men and women: briefly assessing attitudes toward condoms and general condom use behaviours

BACKGROUND

The purpose of this study was to develop an abbreviated reliable tool for assessing the attitudes US college-aged men and women have about condoms and condom use.

METHOD

An online questionnaire was constructed and completed by 674 participants incorporating modified items from the Attitudes Towards Condom Scale (1984) and the Multidimensional Condom Attitude Scale (1994), with the addition of gender-neutral worded and condom positive or erotic items.

RESULTS

The original 40 items were reduced to 18 Likert-type items comprising the Brief Condom Attitude Scale (BCAS). Gender comparisons on a subset of 584 self-identified heterosexual participants indicated that women were significantly more likely to consider condoms as less protective, while men were significantly more likely to consider condoms as more interruptive. Additional analyses examining partnership indicated that monogamous participants were significantly more likely to view condoms as less interruptive, more erotic and less negative than non-monogamous participants.

CONCLUSIONS

The BCAS appears to be a reliable measure for assessing US college-aged individuals' attitudes about condoms.

Intimate partner violence perpetration and condom use-related factors: associations with heterosexual men's consistent condom use

Intimate partner violence victimization has been linked to sexual HIV risk behavior among heterosexual women. The unique role of perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) in sexual risk behavior among men has not been studied as well. Based on interviews with 518 heterosexual men recruited via street-intercept between 2005 and 2007 in New York City, we assessed the relationship between perpetration of IPV against a main female partner and inconsistent condom use with that same partner, while controlling for condom use-related factors. Multivariate logistic regression revealed that men who perpetrated physical IPV were half as likely to report consistent condom use as compared with men who did not use violence, while controlling for sociodemographic, condom use-related and other factors. Physical IPV perpetration by heterosexual men makes an independent contribution to consistent condom use. Designing interventions for heterosexual men that simultaneously address both IPV and sexual risk behaviors is critical.

College students and condom attitude: validation of the Multi-Factor Attitude toward Condoms Scale (MFACS)

OBJECTIVE

Sexually transmitted infections and the human immunodeficiency virus incidence rates remain high among college-aged individuals. This study examined the validity and reliability of the Multi-Factor Attitude toward Condoms Scale (MFACS).

PARTICIPANTS

Participants were recruited from a large midwestern university during February and March 2009.

METHODS

Data were collected using in-class data collection with a test-retest design from undergraduate courses. A total of 442 surveys were collected during initial testing and 421 during retesting.

RESULTS

Reliability assessments indicated a sufficient Cronbach's alpha for the total scale (α = .805) and each subscale: affective (α = .790), perceived effectiveness (α = .795), and manageability (α = .751). Further analyses provide evidence of construct validity.

CONCLUSIONS

The study reaffirmed the psychometric properties of the MFACS among a sample of college students. The MFACS provides a contemporary way to examine condom attitudes as sexual health research is moving beyond only disease prevention efforts.

Factor structure of the Condoms Barriers Scale with a sample of men at high risk for HIV

This study assesses the psychometric properties of the Condom Barriers Scale (CBS), an instrument originally designed to measure women's perceptions and attitudes regarding male condom use, with a sample of men at high risk for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Participants include 590 male patients in drug abuse treatment involved in a gender-specific HIV prevention intervention for teaching safer sex skills. Second-order confirmatory factor analysis generally supported the underlying four-factor subscale structure of the CBS. However, exploratory factor analysis revealed a few specific discrepancies in the factor structure between men and women. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability estimates were moderate to high in value. CBS scores correlated with use of condoms for men with high-risk sexual partners, supporting criterion-related validity. Overall, the analysis indicates that the CBS is a potentially valid and reliable instrument and has utility for assessing barriers to condom use with men, but may need some item content modifications to allow appropriate assessment of gender differences and comparisons across studies.

Condom 'turn offs' among adults: an exploratory study

An exploratory study compared the prevalence of multiple types of condom-associated 'turn offs' in men and women. Nearly 2000 people completed a web-based questionnaire. Data were analysed from 464 men and women who reported that condoms had turned them off the last time they were used. Gender differences were not observed for the majority (9) of 15 turn offs. The most common turn offs related to loss of pleasure. For example, more than three-quarters of the men and nearly 40% of the women reported decreased sexual sensation (P = 0.0001). Putting on condoms was reported by 43.2% of the men versus 30.2% of the women (P = 0.02). Smell was a relatively frequent turn off, with about one-third indicating this issue and no significant gender difference (P = 0.32). Turn offs pertaining to arousal and orgasm were also common. Findings suggest that numerous physical and psychological condom turn offs may be experienced by men and women while using male condoms. Although some turn offs differed as a function of gender, there was remarkable similarity between men and women.

Experimental pretesting of public health campaigns: a case study

The aim of the present study is to demonstrate the merits of evaluating new public health campaign materials in the developmental phase using an experimental design. This is referred to as experimental pretesting. In practice, most new materials are tested only after they have been distributed using nonexperimental or quasiexperimental designs. In cases where materials are pretested prior to distribution, pretesting is usually done using qualitative research methods such as focus groups. Although these methods are useful, they cannot reliably predict the effectiveness of new campaign materials in a developmental phase. Therefore, we suggest when pretesting new materials, not only qualitative research methods but also experimental research methods must be used. The present study discusses an experimental pretest study of new campaign materials intended for distribution in a national sexually transmitted infection (STI) AIDS prevention campaign in the Netherlands. The campaign material tested was the storyline of a planned television commercial on safe sex. A storyboard that consisted of drawings and text was presented to members of the target population, namely, students between the ages of 14 and 16 enrolled in vocational schools. Results showed positive effects on targeted determinants of safe sexual behavior. The advantages, practical implications, and limitations of experimental pretesting are discussed.

Why are young college women not using condoms? Their perceived risk, drug use, and developmental vulnerability may provide important clues to sexual risk

BACKGROUND

Young multiethnic college women (YMCW) are at risk for STDs and HIV secondary to high-risk sexual behaviors that are related to developmental issues such as invincibility, low perceived risk, and substance use.

METHOD

One hundred YMCW on a southern California university campus completed surveys that examined variables that impacted their sexual risk.

RESULTS

The study yielded many significantly correlated variables. Women with low perceived risk, lower use of drugs and alcohol, and who had parental involvement had lower sexual behavior risk. Women that were sexually assertive, had intentions to use condoms, and did not use substances used condoms more often. Older students in advanced grades who had steady partners used substances less and had decreased sexual risk, however, they experienced partner resistance to condoms, which canceled out any reduced risk. In a multiple regression analysis, condom use intention and substance use predicted condom use, perceived risk and substance use predicted sexual behavior risk. White women had significantly higher substance use, perceived sexual risk, and sexual behavior risk than did Latinas and African Americans.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite their assertiveness and intentions, many participants had multiple sexual partners, and 64% of the YMCW were inconsistent condom users. Despite knowing the elevated risks, 52% used drugs and alcohol during sex. Negative attitudes (61%) about condoms were also demonstrated as a key factor in the lack of condom use.

Efeitos de panfletos informativos sobre a Aids em adolescentes

Este estudo buscou responder se diferentes materiais informativos impressos (panfletos), sobre a transmissão do HIV, podem favorecer ou dificultar o conhecimento desta doença e a atitude frente ao preservativo em adolescentes do ensino médio. Participaram 300 estudantes de escolas públicas e particulares das cidades de Florianópolis, Itajaí e Balneário Camboriú. Utilizaram-se três tipos de panfletos (A - Adolescência e aids; B - Adolescência, drogas e aids; C - Adolescência, sexualidade e aids), e três questionários (antes, após a leitura de panfletos e 10 dias depois). Para a análise empregou-se o teste de diferença entre médias (t de Student) e a análise de variância (MANOVA), através do programa informático SPSS 11.1. Os dados indicaram a existência de impactos positivos da leitura dos panfletos no conhecimento, mas em relação à atitude ao preservativo não houve alterações significativas. Pode-se avaliar como positiva a utilização de panfletos como estratégias preventivas frente à aids.

He Said, She Said

BACKGROUND

Most studies of sexual behavior and risk are based on self-reports of individuals.

GOAL

The goal of this study was to assess interpartner concordance on self-reported sexual behavior, condom use, and relationship characteristics; and agreement between individuals' perceptions of their partners' sexual risks and the partners' actual reports.

STUDY DESIGN

Interviews were conducted separately but concurrently with 112 heterosexual couples at increased risk for HIV/sexually transmitted infections recruited through women at clinics and community locations.

RESULTS

Couples were concordant on reports of relationship characteristics (kappa > or = 0.84), sexual behavior, and condom use (r > or = 0.62), but disagreed on who has more power and sexual decision-making dominance (kappa < or = 0.26). We found substantial agreement between men's perceptions and their partners' reported risky behavior (kappa = 0.62), but only fair agreement between women's perceptions and their partners' reports (kappa = 0.30).

CONCLUSION

Individual self-reports could be reliable measures of sexual behavior. Additionally, prevention interventions need to address women's misperceptions about their partners' risky behaviors.

Partner influence on noncondom use: gender and ethnic differences

This study investigates gender and ethnicity differences in the experience of not using a condom due to a partner s influence (unwanted noncondom use). Analysis of 247 anonymous questionnaires from students at urban community college campuses revealed that 46.7% had experienced unwanted noncondom use since age 16, and 37% had experienced unwanted noncondom use with their current or most recent partner. Males and females reported equal levels of unwanted noncondom use. However, African-American and Latino participants reported higher levels of unwanted noncondom use than Whites. The findings indicate that females, males, and people from ethnic groups at high risk for HIV infection need support to carry out their safer sex intentions.

Sexual double standards: a review and methodological critique of two decades of research

A review of 30 studies published since 1980 found evidence for the continued existence of sexual double standards: different standards of sexual permissiveness for women and men. Experimental studies have included predominantly White North American college students; ethnographies, focus group and interview studies, and linguistic analyses have included more diverse samples. Studies show that sexual double standards are influenced by situational and interpersonal factors (e.g., the target's age, level of relationship commitment, and number of partners), and that double standards are local constructions, differing across ethnic and cultural groups. This review discusses methodological issues, including the strengths and limitations of quantitative and qualitative approaches. It also discusses implications for women s high-risk sexual behavior and sexual identity, and suggests directions for future research.

CORRELATES AND PREDICTORS OF RISKY SEXUAL PRACTICES AMONG A MULTI-RACIAL/ETHNIC SAMPLE OF UNIVERSITY STUDENTS

This research identifies the correlates and predictors of risky sexual behaviors among an ethnically diverse multiethnic sample of college students attending a large state university in the southeastern U.S. (N=338). Nine risk and five protective factors served as independent! predictive factors in the analyses. The dependent variable was scores on a risky sexual behaviors scale. Six of the nine risk factors and four of the five protective factors were significantly correlated with scores on the risky sexual behaviors scale. Regression analyses identified six significant predictors of risky sexual practices: number of partners in last six months; religious values; condom attitudes; age at first sex; binging on alcohol; and residential locus. These terms explained 29.4% of the total variance in risky sexual behavior scores. Implications for prevention programs and future research are noted.

Structure of outcome beliefs in condom use. The Project RESPECT Study Group

To study the structure of beliefs about condom use outcomes, the authors derived and tested 4 psychosocial hypothetical models: (a) a 2-factor model of the personal and social outcomes of condom use; (b) a 2-factor model of the pros and cons of the behavior; (c) a 3-factor model (i.e., physical, self-evaluative, and social) of outcome expectancies; and (d) a thematic 4-factor model of the protection, self-concept, pleasure, and interaction implications of the behavior. All 4 models were studied with a confirmatory factor analysis approach in a multisite study of 4,638 participants, and the thematic solution was consistently the most plausible. Self-concept and pleasure were most strongly associated with attitudes toward using condoms, intentions to use condoms, and actual condom use, whereas protection and interaction generally had little influence.

Hispanic adults' beliefs, attitudes, and intentions regarding the female condom

The present study used the theory of planned behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1985) augmented by AIDS knowledge to investigate factors influencing intentions of Hispanic adults to use the female condom. A total of 146 persons (75 women and 71 men; mean age, 27 years) recruited from community-based organizations completed an anonymous survey regarding intentions to use the female condom with their main sex partner. The TPB model had greater predictive utility for women's, than for men's, female condom use intentions. For men, attitudes and norms did not predict female condom use intentions, but greater AIDS knowledge was related to lower intentions to use the female condom, above and beyond the TPB constructs. Perceived behavioral control, operationalized as self-efficacy, significantly increased the predictive utility of the TPB model for women's female condom use intentions but not for men's. Behavior change strategies to increase female condom use are discussed in light of these findings.

Gender differences related to heterosexual condom use: the influence of negotiation styles

The present study had three primary goals. The first was to identify gender differences related to negotiation styles associated with condom use. We hypothesized that women would report engaging in more negotiation behaviors associated with condom use than men. The second goal was to determine whether the relationships between intentions to use condoms and past condom use for women and men were moderated by negotiation behaviors. The third goal was to examine gender differences in responses to an open-ended question inquiring why participants did not use condoms. Male and female college students (N = 219) anonymously completed a series of measures. The results indicated that women and men have unique roles in the negotiation process; women play a more active role in negotiation of condom use, while men play a more reactive role. The relationship between intentions to use condoms and past condom use increased for men when their partners were more active in the process of deciding whether to use condoms. Responses to the open-ended item revealed that women identified perceptions of low risk as the most common reason for not using condoms, while men identified the inconvenience or unavailability of condoms as the most common reason. The implications of these results are discussed as they relate to health efforts to increase condom use.

Perceptions and Use of the Male Condom among African American University Students

This study examines differences in condom use among female and male African-American young adults; investigates how perceptions of contraceptive characteristics vary by gender; and determines which combination of contraceptive attitudes best discriminates between condom users and nonusers. In a classroom setting, 244 African-American college students completed the Contraceptive Attributes Questionnaire-2. Significantly more men than women reported condom use, both actual and intended. Women and men differed in the importance they place on contraceptive characteristics and in their perceptions of both the condom and the contraceptive pill. Finally, perceived contraceptive attributes significantly differentiated men and women who used condoms from those who did not and predicted those who reported that they definitely intend to use condoms from those who do not. These findings suggest that prevention efforts to promote condom use must be gender specific as well as culture specific if they are to be effective.

Attitudes about condoms and condom use among college students

The authors assessed the relationships of ethnicity, gender, previous condom use, and intended condom use to perceived attributes of the condom and the contraceptive pill in a multiethnic sample of 197 college students. Factors that appeared to underlie attitudes toward the condom and the Pill included prevention of health problems, peer acceptance, sexual pleasure and spontaneity, convenience, embarrassment, and effectiveness in preventing HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. African American participants viewed the condom more positively than did students from other ethnic groups and were more likely to use condoms than White participants were. The African Americans appeared to know less about the characteristics of the Pill and were less likely to use it than were the White respondents. Only 60% of the persons in the student sample had used condoms in the last 6 months, and less than one half definitely intended to use condoms in the next month. Those who had used a condom at their most recent intercourse and those who intended to use a condom in the next month viewed the condom more favorably than others did. Intended condom use was associated with a perception of oral contraceptives as a less convenient method of birth control.