Action-specific Cognitions of Planned and Preparatory Behaviors of Condom Use among Dutch Adolescents

Abstract

Many adolescents fail to use condoms, even when they are motivated to do so. An important reason for their failure to use condoms is that they do not prepare themselves for potential sexual encounters. The present study examined the circumstances under which Dutch adolescents were likely to prepare themselves for condom use (buying and carrying). In a sample of 399 secondary school students, including students with and without sexual experience, it was found that intended condom use was not sufficient to ensure that adolescents plan and prepare for condom use. It was found that having the goal of condom use did not necessarily result in preparatory behavior, such as condom buying and condom carrying. The data showed that action-specific social-cognitive factors of preparatory behavior explained preparatory behavior, beyond the decision to use condoms. This suggests that interventions aimed at promoting condom use should focus not only on condom use itself, but should also motivate and encourage adolescents to buy and carry condoms.

The Relationship between Condom-Related Protective Behavioral Strategies and Condom Use among College Students: Global- and Event-Level Evaluations

“…Preparatory behaviors were found to fully mediate the relationship between intentions to use condoms and actual condom use in both high school and college students (Bryan, Fisher, & Fisher, 2002). This is also consistent with findings regarding condom use in Dutch adolescents, where the relationship between intention and condom use was fully mediated by preparatory behaviors, although this relationship was only seen with steady, as opposed to casual, sexual partners (van Empelen & Kok, 2008). In both of these studies, intentions to use condoms by themselves did not appear to affect condom use, unless the intentions were associated with preparatory behaviors like buying or carrying condoms.…”

Who’s that girl? A qualitative analysis of adolescent girls’ views on factors associated with teenage pregnancies in Bolgatanga, Ghana

“…Preparatory sub-behaviors such as buying and carrying contraceptives and skills to communicate contraceptive use wishes are vital to enable girls to make safer sex choices [49]. Future intervention planners should first examine which cognitive beliefs are more important in addressing specific preparatory behaviors related to condom use.…”

Internet y conducta sexual de riesgo para VIH/SIDA en jóvenes

“…Este resultado puede deberse a que la mayoría de los jóvenes no saben que también pueden infectarse del VIH por medio del sexo oral (27) , además de que ellos no creen que el sexo oral es un acto sexual (28) . También se encontró que la mayoría de los jóvenes utilizan el condón de manera inconsistente y que tienen múltiples parejas sexuales, lo cual concuerda con diversos estudios (29,30,31,32,33) . Se encontró que gran parte de los jóvenes que participaron en el estudio no planeaban sus relaciones sexuales, lo cual es congruente con su etapa de desarrollo ya que a esta edad aún son muy impulsivos y no controlan sus actos (34) .…”