Sexuality-related information sources among college students as predictors of condom use behaviors and intention to use condoms

Background: Incidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) remains a cause for concern within the United States, particularly among those aged 15 to 24 years. Research suggests college students, captured in this age range, are likely to obtain sexuality-related information from a variety of sources. The purpose of this study was to: 1) identify sexuality-related information sources among college students and 2) determine if preferred sources of sexual information predict intention to use condoms. Methods: Undergraduate students from a large southern university were recruited to participate. Participants were initially contacted in one of two ways: through an email or in-class recruitment message. Participants were asked to complete an online survey containing questions pertaining to sexuality-related information sources, sexual history, and attitudes toward condoms. Frequency analysis and multivariate statistics were used to analyze the data. Results: A total of 461 online surveys were completed. Participants were mostly female (n = 326, 70.4%), junior/senior classification (n = 291, 62.9%) and White (n = 350, 75.6%). Most frequently visited sources of sexual information included: Internet (n = 395, 85.3%), peers (n = 379, 81.9%), and media (n = 355, 76.7%). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to gain further insight of the ability of sexuality-related information sources to predict condom use behaviors and intentions, as well as sexual behaviors. Conclusion: Results provide insight for sexual health intervention development among college-aged students. Sexuality-related information sources have been shown to have an impact on sexual behaviors of adolescents and young adults.