Illusions of Safety in a Risky World: A Study of College Students' Condom Use

Autor: Debra Freedman, Joye Swan, Suzanne C. Thompson, Kalin Anderson
Rok vydání: 1996
Předmět:
Zdroj: Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 26:189-210
ISSN: 1559-1816
0021-9029
DOI: 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1996.tb01845.x
Popis: Perceptions of invulnerability comprise a major barrier to safe sex and other health promoting practices among adolescents. To refine understanding of this phenomenon a questionnaire that focused on condom use prevalence perceived personal susceptibility to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and the cost-benefit ratio of condom use was administered to 211 California students at community and four-year colleges. The average report of personal risk for HIV was 16% 23 percentage points lower than the 39% risk assigned to members of the students college reference group. Condoms were used during intercourse an average of 47% of the time in the past year. The likelihood of condom use at next intercourse was identified as definite by 46% probable by 23% probably not by 13% and definitely not by 17%. The perception of being at low risk of HIV was positively associated with a view of condoms as ineffective and interfering with pleasure; perceived invulnerability was further correlated with a lower rate of current and anticipated condom use. Also associated with non-use of condoms was inexperience with the method. Unexpectedly students who felt more invulnerable were more likely to have used condoms in the past. An open-ended question on factors that place students at low risk of HIV revealed several invalid assumptions e.g. monogamy not using drugs discussing HIV with ones partner. It is hypothesized that exposure to educational material on the risk factors for HIV has lulled many students into a false sense of security about their personal vulnerability.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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