Measures of Attitudes Toward and Communication about Condom Use: Their Relationships with Sexual Risk Behavior among Young Black Men Who Have Sex With Men
OBJECTIVE:
The
aim of this study was to construct and test measures of psychosocial mediators
that could be used in intervention studies seeking to promote safer sex
behavior among young black men who have sex with men (YBMSM).
METHODS:
A total
of 400 YBMSM, ages 18 to 29 years, were recruited from a clinic for sexually
transmitted infection in the southern United States. All men had engaged in
penile-anal sex with a man as a "top" in the past 6 months. The men
completed an audio-computer-assisted self-interview and provided specimens used
for nucleic acid amplification testing to detect Chlamydia and gonorrhea. Four
measures were constructed and tested for criterion validity (Safer Sex
Communication, Condom Turn-Offs, Condom Pleasure Scale, and a single item
assessing frequency of condom use discussions before sexual arousal).
RESULTS:
With the
exception of Safer Sex Communication, all of the measures showed criterion
validity for both unprotected anal insertive and unprotected anal receptive
sex. With the exception of the Condom Turn-Offs, the 3 other measures were
supported by criterion validity for oral sex. Both the Condom Turn-Offs and
Condom Pleasure Scale were significantly related to whether or not the men
reported multiple partners as a top, but only the Condom Pleasure Scale was
associated with reports of multiple partners as a "bottom." Only the
Condom Turn-Offs Scale was positively associated with having been diagnosed
with either Chlamydia or gonorrhea.
CONCLUSION:
Findings
provide 3 brief scales and a single item that can be used in intervention
studies targeting YBMSM. Perceptions about condoms being a turnoff and about
condoms enhancing pleasure showed strong association with sexual risk behaviors.
- 1From the *College of Public Health, University of Kentucky (http://www.uky.edu/publichealth/), Lexington, KY; †The Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, ‡Rural Center for AIDS/STD Prevention, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; §Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, UK; ¶Department of Gender Studies, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, **Department of Applied Health Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; ††Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada; and ***University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS.
- Sex Transm Dis. 2016 Feb;43(2):94-8. doi: 10.1097/OLQ.0000000000000392.
Great read :) thx
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