Condom Use, Anal Intercourse and Self-Efficacy

Research has found an increasing number of different sex couples are engaging in anal intercourse. Despite being a high risk sexual behavior, studies show that condom use is lower for anal intercourse than vaginal intercourse. As the receptive partner, women are put at greater risk of contracting an STD from an infected partner.

This pilot study assessed whether the Condom Use Self-Efficacy Scale (CUSES) could be expanded to assess condom use and different sex anal intercourse. Two surveys were administered to a large lecture class at a mid-Atlantic university. Half of the respondents completed surveys regarding anal intercourse and the other half regarding vaginal intercourse. Both CUSES were found to be highly reliable with Cronbach's Alpha scores above 0.9. For CUSES Partner Disapproval, Mechanics and Assertive Subscales, Cronbach's Alpha was approximately 0.7. In addition, no correlation was found between the Social Desirability Scale and either CUSES version. Overall, anal intercourse CUSES scores were significantly lower than those for vaginal intercourse among non-virgin respondents (p=.029). 59.2% reported using a condom at last vaginal intercourse while 35.7% reported the same at last anal intercourse. Those participants who used a condom at last anal intercourse had significantly higher scores on the Partner Disapproval Subscale than those who did not report using a condom at last anal intercourse (p=.012). These initial results lay the groundwork for further exploration of the low rates of anal intercourse condom use among different sex couples. Findings should be used to inform sexual health curriculum for different sex couples.