Condom use motivations and selected behaviours with new versus established sex partners
Richard A. Crosby A B C J , Robin R. Milhausen B C F , Cynthia A. Graham B C E , William L. Yarber B C D G , Stephanie A. Sanders B C G , Richard Charnigo A and Lydia A. Shrier H IA College of Public Health at the University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA.
B Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
C The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
D Department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
E Department of Psychology at Southampton University, Southampton, SO17 1BJUK, UK.
F Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition at the University of Guelph, Guelph, ON NIG2W1, Canada.
G Department of Gender Studies at Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.
H Division of Adolescent/Young Adult Medicine, Boston Children’s Hospital, Boston, MA 02115, USA.
I Department of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School, Cambridge, MA 02115, USA.
J Corresponding author. Email: crosby@uky.edu
Sexual Health 11(3) 252-257 https://doi.org/10.1071/SH13159
Submitted: 3 October 2013 Accepted: 6 April 2014 Published: 3 July 2014
Abstract
Objective: To compare condom use motives and behaviours in the context of penile–vaginal intercourse (PVI) with new versus established sexual partners, using daily event-level data among a clinic-recruited sample. Methods: Participants (ages 15–65 years old) were recruited from five sexually transmissible infection (STI) clinics in three United States cities. They were provided with personal digital assistants and instructed to respond to daily questionnaire items regarding PVI events from the past 24 h. Generalised estimations equations were used to make inferences on age-adjusted estimated odds ratios, comparing events occurring with established versus new partners. Results: For males, pregnancy prevention was a more common motivation for condom use in new relationships (P < 0.001). Males with new sex partners were more likely to report condom use (P < 0.005) and also reported fewer errors or problems in condom use with new sex partners (P < 0.001). For females, pregnancy prevention (P = 0.03), STI acquisition (P < 0.001) and STI transmission (P = 0.005) were more likely to be motives for condom use with new versus established partners. Also, females with new sex partners were more likely to report condom use (P < 0.001) as well as using multiple condoms during a single event (P = 0.03). Conclusion: Event-level findings suggest that condom use motivations and behaviours vary depending on whether PVI occurs between established versus new sex partners. Condom use is more likely for PVI with new partners, but other condom-associated behaviours and motivations differ between females and males.
Additional keywords: pregnancy prevention, safer sex, sexually transmissible infections, United States.
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