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Incorporating adolescent females’ perceptions of their partners’ attitudes
toward condoms into a model of female adolescent condom use.
Psychology Health & Medicine 2006; 11(4):449-460.
Hogben M, Liddon N, Pierce A, Sawyer M, Papp JR, Black CM, Koumans EH.
Abstract
The highest rates of sexually transmitted infections in the U.S. occur among
adolescent females. One prevention strategy promoted for sexually active
adolescents is condom use: therefore, influences on correct and consistent
condom use are worth examining. Because interventions and observational research
into predicting and increasing condom use have yielded mixed results, we
hypothesized that a theoretically driven model incorporating female adolescents'
perceptions about partner sentiments along with their own perceptions, intentions,
and behaviours would improve condom use predictions. We also measured condom
use errors and consistency for a more precise estimate of effective use than
is common in the literature. In three structural equation models tested on
a sample of 519 female adolescents, we found that intentions were associated
with both correct and consistent condom use; that females' expectancy beliefs
about condom use were associated with intentions; and that females' expectancy
beliefs about partners' sentiments reduced the impact of their expectancy
beliefs about condom use. The implications of these relations upon condom
use correctness and consistency are discussed with respect to informing interventions,
among other future research.