Relationship between condom use and sexual intimate partner violence in college-aged females

Background: Intimate partner violence (IPV) is associated with deleterious consequences to a woman's physical, emotional, and sexual health; however, forced or unwanted sex by an intimate partner (sexual IPV) is often not examined separately in the literature. Violent relationships can leave victims with a disorganized self-image, feelings of powerlessness, and less concern for health which can render women vulnerable to myriad negative health consequences, including sexual risk-taking behaviors (i.e., condom misuse), unwanted pregnancy, or sexually-transmitted infections. Furthermore, college-aged women are at a particularly high risk for sexual assault relative to alcohol abuse; therefore it was hypothesized that females who have experienced sexual IPV would be less likely to use condoms. Methods: The current study sought to explore the association between lifetime sexual IPV and condom use at last intercourse. A survey was administered to college students (N=500) from a large public university. Chi-square tests of independence and logistic regression analyses were used to determine differences in condom use among victims and non-victims of sexual IPV. Results: Bivariate analyses revealed significant differences between groups relative to condom use. Analyses revealed that women who have ever experienced forced or unwanted sexual intercourse were almost twice as likely to report not using a condom at last intercourse. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that women who have been victims of sexual IPV may face challenges regarding condom negotiation and use. Professionals working with victims of IPV should be aware of the issues surrounding contraceptive use, STIs and violent relationships.