Understanding African-American student's perceptions, beliefs and behaviors associated with condom usage at Indiana University Bloomington

Objectives: The HIV/AIDS epidemic continues to disproportionately affect young African American adults across the United States. As suggested by sexual behavior research, unprotected sexual activity is among the leading modes of transmission for the HIV/AIDS virus and is furthermore a common practice among sexually active college students across cultures. In an effort to examine potential cultural determinants of condom use specific to African Americans, this epidemiologic descriptive study seeks to identify potential cultural norms through an examination of attitudes and beliefs, with respect to condoms and condom use behavior, among African American students at a Midwestern university.

Methods: Data was collected from 157 African American undergraduate and graduate students. A 39-item scale was utilized to assess condom use with respect to five categories: condom reliability and difficulty, social stigma, emotional and physical response, behavioral beliefs and condom attractiveness.

Results: African American men were significantly more likely to have no objection to partner suggestion of condom use, use condoms at the suggestion of a partner, and consider condoms to be the safest form of contraception. Females were found to have overall more positive attitude towards condoms. Class ranking considered freshman males and females were more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior as compared to all other students. Upperclass males and females reported that they were more willing to use a condom even if they had never used one previously. Males strongly agreed that condoms were unreliable and among those total respondents who expressed this same belief, decreased intent to use a condom was also demonstrated by class. While results are considered to be the safest form of contraception, African-American males felt that condoms were unreliable.

Conclusion: Significant differences in perceptions of condom use exist between the male and genders in this African American population. Consistent with previous findings, partner intent to use condoms was more influential for males. Age was shown to be a significant factor in condom use intent across genders. The findings underscore the importance of increased attention to both gender and age related factors to improve the rates of condom use among African American college students.