Do actions speak louder than words? An exploratory look at the relationship between condom use practices, personal responsibility, and pregnancy desire among African-American men

Unintended pregnancy is one that is inopportune or unwanted at the time of conception. Among certain subgroups, particularly African-Americans, the number of unintended pregnancies remains consistently high. Eighty heterosexual, African-American men (18-29 years) recruited from barbershops and recreational venues in the southeast participated in an interactive, group-based HIV/STD intervention. At baseline, sexual relationships, prevention responsibility, condom use practices, and desire for pregnancy were assessed. Statistical analyses were performed to examine associations between variables. Only men who reported having a sexual partner (in general) or main sexual partner within the last 3 months were included in the analyses. Eighty-six percent of men reported concern that their sex partner would become pregnant, yet less than half used condoms at last sex (40%). Among men who did not want to get their partner pregnant, 55.7% reported no condom use at last sex. Additionally, male reports of personal blame if their partner got pregnant was significantly related to less condom use at last sex (p=.038). Specifically, among those with a main sexual partner, pregnancy concern remained high, yet condom use at last sex remained low (37.5%). While most men reported not wanting their main partner to become pregnant, they still had sex without a condom (72.5%). From this data, it is suggested that there is a significant discordance between what men report and their actions demonstrating personal responsibility to prevent pregnancy in their sexual relationships. Additional research is needed to better understand the factors that contribute to this inconsistency.