Barriers to Condom Use and Safer Sex Talk among College Dating Couples

Using an open-ended questionnaire response format, this study examined self-generated barriers to condom use and safer sex talk among 119 heterosexual college dating couples at the University of New Mexico (total N=238). Data were collected from both members of these dyads. Reasons for abstaining from intercourse were also elicited. Several general response categories emerged including no perceived risk; spontaneity; deliberate choice; negative attitudes; and a lack of perceived self-efficacy for enacting condom use and safer sex discussion. Explanations for abstinence included religious/moral prohibitions; lack of readiness for intercourse; and a fear of being emotionally hurt. Few differences emerged across gender, ethnicity (Caucasian vs Hispanic), and prior sexual experience (participant had intercourse prior to current relationship vs did not). Selected reasons for not using a condom and/or discussing safer sex (e.g. partner is monogamous) were cross-validated with the self-reported behavior of the respondent's dating partner. In general, participants reasons for perceived non-risk were not supported by their partner's reported behavior. Implications of these findings for sexual risk reduction programs include: establishing realistic goals for safer sex behavior and talk within committed relationships, acknowledging the impact of passion on safer sex, and addressing knowledge gaps in risk perception.     

Predicting male and female contraceptive behavior: a discriminant analysis of groups high, moderate, and low in contraceptive effectiveness

An exploratory, multivariate study was carried out to assess (a) whether three contraceptive-effectiveness groups (high, moderate, and low) could be differentiated on the basis of variables that have been theoretically and empirically associated with contraceptive behavior and (b) whether an identified set of discriminating variables could accurately classify sexually active college students into these groups. Three hundred sixty-five sexually active, never-married college students (211 males and 154 females) completed instruments measuring variables related to contraception. Four separate discriminant analyses were performed, one for each sex for both their initial sexual encounter and their current sexual interactions. Discrimination and classification of the three contraceptive groups for both males' and females' initial sexual experience was not very successful. Moderate discrimination was achieved for the female current sexual activity subsample and good discrimination and classification was made for the currently sexually active male subsample. The results are discussed in terms of the implications of the findings for understanding contraceptive behavior of males and females, problems with the dependent variable of contraceptive use, and the mounting evidence that emotional orientation to sexuality influences contraceptive behavior.     

Sex role development and teenage fertility-related behavior

Data from a 1975 survey of 369 females and 325 males aged 16-17 were analyzed to shed light on the relationship between the maturity of adolescent women and their sexual behavior and contraceptive practice. A straightforward decision-making process was found among males, but more complicated influences exist for females. When the data were submitted to regression and chi-squared analyses, it was found that whereas sexually active adolescents had more liberal sexual attitudes than virgins, their sex role attitudes were more stereotypical than virgins. Then the 2 groups were subdivided into virgins who did not intend to have premarital intercourse (20%); virgins who planned or considered premarital intercourse (40%); adolescents who experienced intercourse prior to age 16 (20%); and those who experienced intercourse after age 16 (20%). It was found that the virgins who did not intend to have premarital intercourse held the most stereotypical sex role attitudes, followed by sexually active women, and that virgins planning or considering intercourse held the least stereotypical views of all. It is suggested that this occurred because these adolescents were more mature and had resolved sexual identity problems earlier without resorting to intercourse. Birth control use was found to be more effective among the adolescents who experienced intercourse after age 16. Further studies are underway to test the hypotheses that the more mature a woman is when she experiences intercourse, the more likely it is that her development will be enhanced and that her contraceptive behavior will be effective.     

Ambivalence and Unprotected Sex: Failure to Predict Sexual Activity and Decreased Condom Use1

Using a prospective design, we assessed whether ambivalence toward sexual activity is associated with decreased condom use. Undergraduates predicted whether they would have intercourse and use condoms in the next week. A week later, they reported their sexual and contraceptive behavior. Among 65 individuals who had intercourse and planned to use condoms, ambivalence toward sexual activity was negatively associated with condom use. Moreover, whether intercourse was planned mediated the relationship between ambivalence and condom use, such that ambivalence was negatively associated with accuracy in planning sex, and unplanned sex was less likely to be protected. Individuals who are ambivalent about sex may intend to use condoms, but fail to do so because they cannot predict when they will have intercourse.     

Parents' behavioral norms as predictors of adolescent sexual activity and contraceptive use

The influence of parental factors on adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive use has been examined previously, and findings have been contradictory. Previous studies, which found little relationship between parental norms and adolescent sexual activity, have been limited by their failure to recognize developmental differences in the relative weight of parent and peer influences between younger and older teens and by use of selected samples, resulting in a restriction of range. The current study differs in that it utilizes a clustered sample household survey of 329 males and females, aged 14 to 17, and 470 of their parents. Using multiple regression analysis, it was found that parents' reported behavioral norms account for 5% of the variance in whether adolescents have had intercourse, and for 33% of the variance in use of contraception at last intercourse. The study suggests that while parents' normative beliefs have limited effect in the decision to become sexually active, they have considerable impact on later contraceptive use.     

Gender-atypical personality or sexual behavior: What is disgusting about male homosexuality?

Research consistently finds that homosexuality elicits strong feelings of disgust, but the reasons remain unclear. In the current research, we investigate responses to gay men who violate social norms governing the expression of gender and sexuality. Two hundred forty-three college undergraduates read a vignette about a gay male college student whose personality traits (masculine, feminine, or neutral) and sexual behavior (active vs. passive) varied and reported their affective responses to and cognitive appraisals of the target. The gay target who displayed a feminine personality elicited more disgust and was perceived as lower in gender role conformity than a gay man who displayed a masculine personality. Similarly, the gay target who assumed a passive sex role elicited more disgust and was perceived as lower in gender role conformity than a gay man who assumed an active sex role. The sexual behavior/disgust relationship was mediated by perceived gender role conformity.     

Sexual Socialization Messages on Entertainment Television: Comparing Content Trends 1997–2002

Previous content analyses of sex on television have relied on differing measures and sampling strategies, which makes it difficult to compare patterns of sexual portrayals over time. This large-scale study (N = 2,817 programs) examines the sexual messages presented on television across both broadcast and cable channels over a 5-year period, applying identical measures to three biennial samples of program content. Results demonstrate that sexual talk and behavior are highly frequent aspects of the television environment. Talk about sex is shown more often than sexual behavior, though both types of content increased significantly from 1997/1998 to 2001/2002. Over that time span, the percentage of shows portraying sexual intercourse doubled from 7 to 14%. Results also show that topics related to sexual risks or responsibilities (e.g., condom use, abstinence) are increasingly included on television, but nonetheless remain infrequent overall. Such safe sex messages occur most frequently in program environments where they are most relevant (i.e., when sexual intercourse is included in the story). The content analysis findings are discussed in terms of their implications for audience effects.     

Emotional inhibition of effective contraception

Negative emotional responses to sex such as anxiety, guilt and fear tend to inhibit sexual behavior. When they are not sufficient to inhibit sexual intercourse, however, they frequently interfere with the ability to plan for, or cope with the consequences of sexual activity. More specifically, these emotional responses to sex frequently interfere with the ability to apply thoughtful and careful logic to contraceptive decision making, and thereby inhibit the use of effective methods of birth control. The current article is a review of the empirical support for emotional inhibition of contraception, and an examination of the psychological mechanisms by which these responses to sex mediate birth control behavior.     

Safe and Unsafe Sexual Intentions and Behavior: The Effects of Norms and Attitudes1

A study of 85 heterosexual men, 85 heterosexual women, and 82 homosexual men was undertaken to examine the variables that influence intentions to engage in different sexual practices and actual sexual behavior. On the basis of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action, it was predicted that the strength of intentions would be related to whether behavior was in accord with intentions. Consistent with expectations, the strength of intention to engage in six different sexual practices (e. g., vaginal intercourse, anal intercourse, oral sex) and the three strategies that modify the risk of HIV transmission (sex with an exclusive partner, sex wearing a condom, and looking for a new partner) predicted actual behavior. Second, it was proposed that attitudes toward one's sexual practices and norms would be related to intentions to engage in safe sex. To reflect differential levels in the safety of behavioral intentions, five safety intention groups were formed: (a) nonpenetrative sex, (b) penetrative sex in an exclusive relationship with a condom, (c) penetrative sex in an exclusive relationship without a condom, (d) penetrative sex in a nonexclusive relationship with a condom, and (e) penetrative sex in a nonexclusive relationship without a condom. Norms, rather than attitudes, distinguished the five safety intention groups. the groups intending to engage in safe sex (nonpenetrative sex or penetrative sex with a condom) perceived lower levels of social approval for their sexual practices than the noncondom groups. Additional analyses showed that past behavior had a stabilizing effect on the intention-behavior relationship, but only for the nonpenetrative and noncondom safety intention groups.     

Health beliefs and teenage condom use: a prospective study

The authors investigated the extent to which Health Belief Model (HBM) measures can be used to predict subsequent sexual activity and consistency of condom use among teenagers, especially those who report having new sex partners. Results from a longitudinal survey of sex behavior and HIV-relevant cognitions among 258 sexually active 16 and 18 year olds in Dundee, Scotland, are reported. Participants responded to a confidential postal questionnaire on their demographic characteristics, previous sexual experience, prior condom use, beliefs specified by the HBM, peer norms regarding condom use, and condom use intentions. Measures of sexual behavior and condom use consistency were then included in a follow-up questionnaire 1 year later. Demographic and HBM measures, as determined through discriminant analysis, did not account for significant proportions of variance in the consistency of condom use or mediate the effects of prior sexual experience or demographic measures. The respondents who reported more frequent sexual intercourse were less likely to use condoms consistently while those who had used condoms previously reported more consistent use. Female respondents were less likely than the young men to follow through upon their intentions to consistently use condoms.     

Adolescent sexual behavior

What is known about adolescent sexual behavior is reviewed. First, the onset of sexual behavior in the teenage years is considered as a function of cohort, gender, and ethnic differences. Omissions in the research on sexual behavior other than intercourse are highlighted. Possible biological, social, and social cognitive processes underlying teenage sexual behavior are then considered. Next, demographic trends in the use of contraceptives and antecedents of regular birth control use are reviewed. Finally, some of the successful program initiatives directed toward altering sexual and contraceptive practices are discussed, keeping in mind the importance and relative lack of well-designed and carefully evaluated programs.     

Personal Control, Self-Efficacy in Sexual Negotiation, and Contraceptive Risk among Adolescents: The Role of Gender

Adolescents’ sexual decision making is shaped by normative ideas about “appropriate” sexual roles for women and men; consequently, the motivation and ability to engage in safer sex may be different for adolescent girls and boys. The aim of this study was to explore how social–psychological resources influence the behavior of girls and boys within the highly gendered and inequitable domain of sexual relationships. I used data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health) to examine whether personal control and self-efficacy in sexual negotiation are associated with contraceptive risk (engaging in sexual intercourse or not using condoms) among adolescents and whether these associations differ for adolescent boys and girls. Results indicate that personal control and self-efficacy in sexual negotiation are significantly associated with safer sex behavior, and are often more important for girls than for boys in predicting contraceptive risk.     

Contraceptive behavior and efficacy: the influence of illusion of fertility control and adult attachment tendencies

College students' illusions regarding their vulnerability to risks related to sexual intercourse affect their contraceptive behavior. The authors explored the influence of the illusion of fertility control and attachment tendencies upon contraceptive behavior among 141 male and 251 female self-selected undergraduate students at a small Midwestern university during fall 1993 and spring 1994 semesters. The illusion of fertility control scale (IFCS) was designed to measure the extent to which aspects of the situation present at last intercourse foster an illusion of fertility control. The IFCS attempts to measure the degree to which people believe that they completely control their own fertility, when they are actually taking some degree of fertility risk. 79% of the students were aged 16-24, with the rest older, 90.56% are White, 6.89% Black, 76.3% never-married, 16.6% currently married, and 18.6% had children. Study findings are based upon the analysis of responses from those sexually experienced, never-married, and aged 16-24 years. Multiple regression analyses determined that illusion of fertility control and attachment style were related to contraception, and that 2 subscales of the IFCS were related to contraception. More precisely, a belief in bodily control was associated with less effective current contraceptive use. Females who felt more independence from their partners in making sexual decisions were characterized by a higher contraceptive failure rate. Furthermore, people with a dismissing attachment style reported a history of less reliable contraception.     

Nontraditional gender roles and the sexual experiences of heterosexual college students

The purposes of this study of heterosexual college students were (1) to specify gender differences and similarities in sexual beliefs and experiences, (2) to determine the prevalence of women enacting traditional male roles in dating and sexual interactions, and (3) to examine the relationship between women's enactment of traditional male roles and their sexual experiences. Findings for this predominantly Caucasian sample indicated that there were no significant gender differences in age of first intercourse, frequency of intercourse, oral sex participation, prevalence of coitus and anal sex, rating of how often sex partners satisfied their sex needs and desires, and reactions to recent intercourse. Although less than men's frequencies, sizable proportions of women acknowledged they had multiple sex partners and sex without emotional involvement. Support for an increased proportion of females engaging in the traditional male roles of initiating sexual involvement and dates and paying date expenses was also found. Findings also suggested that there are no simple patterns between women's sexual experience and nontraditional roles but that this association depends on the specific role as well as the status and quality of a woman's current sexual relationship. Findings were discussed in terms of their potential to contribute to women's sexual decisions.     

The influence of male and female best friends on adolescent sexual behavior

Using panel data from a junior high school system in an urban area of Florida, we examine whether adolescents' best same-sex and best opposite-sex friends' sexual intercourse behavior increases the likelihood that respondents who are virgins at round 1 will make the transition to intercourse between rounds of our study. We find no significant influence effects of friends of either sex for black males or females, or white males. In contrast, white females are influenced by the sexual behavior of both their best female friend and best male friend. A virgin white female whose best friends of both sexes were sexually experience at round 1 was almost certain to have sexual intercourse within the two years of our study.     

“Am I Still a Virgin?”: What Counts as Sex in 20 years of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Seventeen</Emphasis>

In this paper, I analyze what counts as sex using a qualitative content analysis of the sexuality and health advice columns in Seventeen from 1982 to 2001. These columns are a useful source for identifying adolescent sexual norms including what counts as sex. Previous sex research often assumed that sex meant penile–vaginal intercourse and was the cause of virginity loss. Thus, I use virginity-related key terms (e.g., virgin, sex) to identify the sexuality and health advice columns pertinent to this project. These columns illustrate how multiple sexual acts can cause virginity loss; however, Seventeen remains ambiguous in its discussion of what counts as sex. Letter writers are concerned with what sexual acts they can participate in and still remain virgins and what act defines virginity loss. My analysis reveals that the columns reinforce heteronormativity by telling readers virginity is lost only through penile–vaginal intercourse. Additionally, Seventeen supports the sexual double standard by placing the responsibility of sexual behavior solely on female adolescents rather than on them and their partners.     

Effect of sex education on the sexual and contraceptive practices of female teenagers in Mexico City

After reviewing the literature on the relationship between sex education and sexual and contraceptive behavior, the National Research Council (1987) recently concluded that the existing evaluation of the effects of sex education on sexual and contraceptive practice is helpful but not sufficient. 1 possible explanation for the different results obtained are the diverse sociodemographic characteristics of the sample(s) of teens under consideration. Another aspect which might account for the differences seen in the literature focuses on the areas covered in the course. In Mexico, no studies have been undertaken which deal with the relationship between sex education and sexual and contraceptive behaviors. A study carried out with 392 adolescent females ages 16-17 of lower and middle lower socioeconomic status showed that merely attending a sex education course did not affect the initiation or continuation of sexual activity, contraceptive behavior, or even the perception of accessibility to contraception. Providing information on sexuality, partner relationships, and where contraception can be obtained does not appear to have any effect on sexual activity. Receiving information on pregnancy prevention and obtaining contraceptives was found to be related to contraceptive use. Although less dramatic, information about partner relationships and sexuality produced increases in contraceptive use.     

Factors predicting the probability of initiating sexual intercourse by context and sex

Despite men initiating sex more than women there is considerable variance within the sexes. This study is the first to consider the impact of multiple predictors from the literature, and investigates how factors, such as relationship length, sociosexuality, and different aspects of self‐perceived mate value among others, independently and interactively predict initiation of sexual intercourse in both short‐term sexual and long‐term romantic mating contexts, testing predictions from Sexual strategies theory. For long‐term relationships, positive partner bond increased initiative to sexual intercourse for women. For men, self‐perceived independence increased probability of taking the initiative, while relationship attachment decreased probability. For short‐term relations, the desire component of the sociosexual orientation inventory increased probability of initiation for both sexes, while male initiative was increased by pleasure reasons for sex. The impact of individual predictors on initiating intercourse is influenced by being included in a multidimensional model, and relationship context affects the impact of the predictors.     

Adolescents' values, sexuality, and contraception in a rural New York county

75 male and 88 female high school students in a rural county of New York completed a questionnaire asking about personal values and sexual experiences. Religiosity was not likely to affect the incidence of intercourse or effectiveness of contraceptive use. Students with more liberal premarital sexual and profeminist standards usually became more sexually intimate with their dates than did conservative students, but these standards did not predict coital frequency or effective contraceptive use. Different groups exhibited remarkably homogeneous sexual and contraceptive behavior. Nonvirgins had coitus sporadically or on the average of only twice a month. In addition, regardless of their values, most nonvirgins were contraceptive risk takers, partly for fear of interfering with pleasure, and partly because sporadic sex was not perceived by the adolescents to be risky. Rejecting the most, reliable methods available (e.g. birth control pills and IUDs), the condom was the most effective contraceptive used by the majority (57%) and 21% of the nonvirgins relied exclusively on such ineffective contraceptives as withdrawal, trusting in luck, and douching. Younger adolescents may be at particular risk, being more impulse motivated and egocentric, and less likely to seek adult-furnished family planning, especially in a rural community where anonymity is more difficult to protect. Given the uniformity of contraceptive behavior among younger adolescents, and the increasing likelihood of contraceptive use with increasing age of 1st coitus, future study will be needed on the impact of cognitive and emotional maturity, as well as that of environment and family planning resources on young adolescents' contraceptive use.     

Predicting Adolescents' Initiation of Intercourse and Contraceptive Use

This paper examines whether variables consistent with problem behavior theory predict grade of onset of first intercourse and adoption of effective contraception. A total sample of 3,419 Wisconsin adolescents in Grades 7, 9, and 11 participated in a survey of health-related behaviors administered 3 times across a 6-year period. The sample is 87% White. Multiple regression methods generated different models for onset of sexual intercourse vs. contraceptive adoption. Consistent with problem behavior theory, sexual onset is predicted by the adolescent's behavioral system, perceived peer substance use/abuse, importance of friends, and extent to which the adolescent felt harried and believed it was okay to break laws. Contraceptive adoption is predicted by family structure, socioeconomic variables, and self-esteem. Age and gender model differences emerged.