Importance of affect as an underlying determinant of condom attitude as a predictor of condom use intention

Background: Although numerous prevention programs surrounding HIV and STIs exist, prevalence and incidence rates remain a public health concern. While condoms are the only mechanism proven to reduce the risk of HIV and STIs, they remain underused. The study's purpose was to assess the affective and cognitive components of attitude toward condoms as predictors of condom use intention. Methods: Undergraduate students at a large Southern university were recruited to complete an online survey. Data collected were related to demographics, condom use intention, and the three factors of the Multi-Factor Attitude toward Condoms Scale (MFACS): perceived effectiveness and manageability (cognitive), and affective. Results: A total of 455 completed surveys were collected. Reliability analyses revealed respectable internal consistency for all MFACS factors: perceived effectiveness (.822), manageability (.714), and affective (.827). Predictive discriminant analysis (PDA) was used to predict condom use intention (unlikely, neutral, or likely to use condoms) through group membership using all possible combinations of predictor variables: perceived effectiveness, manageability, and affective. PDA hit rates revealed the affective component was the strongest predictor of condom use intention, explaining 67.7% of cases. Conclusion: Results indicate the importance of the affective component of condom attitude (e.g., comfortable, exciting, pleasurable) as a predictor of condom use intention. These implications are significant for sexual health professionals as much emphasis is currently placed on the cognitive factor (e.g., pregnancy, STI, HIV prevention) of condom attitude across condom campaigns. This warrants the need to place greater emphasis on the affective component of condom attitude across these efforts.