Condom Openess and Condom Use: An Investigation of Adolescents’ and Young Adults’ Attitudes and Behaviors

• In Event: 084 - Student Forum Roundtable Session
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 03. Politics and Cultural Influence

Abstract

Condoms are important to sex research, because of the health protections they provide in addition to contraception. Condoms are largely relevant to sexually active adolescents and young adults, as they are the highest at-risk population for contraction of STIs. The current study uses the NSFG 2006-2010 data to examine the association of condom openness (attitudes) to condom use (behavior) among individuals age 15-25. An important research contribution is that the study includes the attitude assessment of women. Preliminary results show that condom appreciation, low embarrassment of discussing condoms, and lower perceived loss in physical pleasure if a condom is used are associated with higher rates of condom use at last sex. Results also show that an increase on the scale of condom openness increases the odds of using a condom at last sex.

Author

• Eowna Young Harrison, University of Maryland