Stephanie Peltzer, Medical Tribune News Service
Insisting on condom usage as a prerequisite to sex, especially
on the first encounter, may do more than protect from disease, it
could improve male-female intimate relationships, according to a
new study in the Journal of Adolescence.
The researchers hope that this message may be incorporated into
sex education programs to help young adults overcome fears of
initiating conversation about condom use with potential sexual
partners.
Researchers led by John E. Hocking of the University of Georgia
in Athens presented 85 male and 103 female college students 18 to
30 years old with written role-playing scenarios. The scenarios
outlined the beginning of a fictitious relationship and events
leading up to a first sexual encounter. The scenarios culminated in
a scene in which the imaginary sexual partner either did or did not
insist on condom use. Adjustments were made for female and male
subjects, but otherwise the scenarios remained similar until the
condom condition.
After reading the role-playing situations, the subjects recorded
their perceptions of their imaginary partner and the imaginary
relationship.
Participants whose imaginary partners insisted on condom use
reported greater feelings of safety and were less likely to have
feelings of regret. Both men and women perceived their imaginary
partners as caring more about them and viewed them as less likely
to have a sexually transmitted disease, and men felt these
perceptions more strongly than the women did.
The report cites studies showing that 75 to 85 percent of
college students are sexually active, but that less than half use
condoms regularly, despite education efforts to alert the public
about the risk of becoming infected with HIV/AIDS or other sexually
transmitted diseases.
Hocking said he believes that one reason that informed people
have sex without condoms is that they are afraid to talk about it,
for fear that it will send a negative message. ``But, across the
board, in contrast to folklore, it's a positive message that's
being received,'' Hocking said.
``I think the results are refreshing. It upholds the belief that
sex encounters should be entered into deliberately,'' said Dr.
Peggy Smith, a professor at the Baylor College of Medicine.
Although Smith believes the study may reflect people's real
attitudes about using condoms, she pointed out that there is a
difference between talking about an activity and actually
performing it.
Hocking agreed that ``when someone role plays you're never sure
if it is going to happen [in real life].'' But he added that the
results of the survey are so striking that they should be brought
to the attention of sex education teachers immediately. He is
hopeful that getting the message out to students that sexual
partners feel more positively about partners who insist on condom
use may encourage young adults to communicate about condoms more
openly. Hocking noted that ``when people teach sexual education
classes, they are constantly saying, 'Wear a condom, it will save
your life.' Well here's another reason. Your partner will feel more
highly about you.''
