Correlates of Condom Use Intentions and Behaviors Among a Community-Based Sample of Latino Men in Los Angeles

Abstract

HIV/AIDS has disproportionately affected Latino communities. The majority of research addressing HIV risk behaviors within this population has focused on women. However, men who have sex with women (MSW) are a population increasingly becoming infected with HIV and heterosexual contact is the primary source of HIV transmission among Latinos diagnosed with AIDS. It has been assumed that because men are likely to control condom use, relationship factors are less likely to influence safer sex behavior among men. However, because condom use is an interdependent behavior, understanding factors that predict safer sex behavior among MSW is critical. This study examined the influence of multiple factors on condom use behavior in a community-based sample of young Latino men. Data from 191 Latino men who completed baseline interviews for an intervention were analyzed to examine the association of background, intrapersonal and relationship factors with intentions to use condoms and condom use in the past three months. Findings from multivariate analyses indicated that more positive attitudes toward condoms, stronger partner condom norms and greater participation in decision-making about condom use were significantly associated with both condom use and condom use intentions. Additionally, men reporting lower expectations of negative partner reactions to condom requests were more likely to use condoms, and condom use intentions were higher among men reporting more health protective communication in the relationship. Findings suggest that interventions to prevent HIV need to include men as well as women and address the role of relationship factors and dynamics in safer sex practices.

Understanding Heterosexual Condom Use among Homeless Men

“…In examining a wide range of individual, relationship, and contextual characteristics to better understand the determinants of condom use in this population, results indicated that the strongest barriers included men’s negative attitudes about condoms, their low self-efficacy for condom use, and not talking with their partner about condom use before having sex. These barriers have been highlighted as among the most important in the larger literature on heterosexual condom use based on relatively more advantaged samples [23, 44, 45] and are targeted in information-motivation-behavioral skills (IMB) approaches to HIV prevention [46]. Their relevance to condom use among homeless men is an important finding in that it suggests that the putative mechanisms of change targeted in most IMB-based interventions are also reasonable targets for interventions with homeless men.…”

The Role of Peer Support on Condom Use among Black and Latino MSM in Three Urban Areas

“…Diaz (2000) suggested that although intentions for safer sex may exist, sociocultural factors, such as negative peer pressure, may disrupt intentions. Other studies suggest that non-MSM Latinos' behaviors are also influenced by their peers (Fasula & Miller, 2006;Harvey & Henderson, 2006;Marin, Gomez, Tschann, & Gregorich, 1997;Yan, Beck, Howard, Shattuck, & Kerr, 2008). For example, Yan et al (2008) found that among Latino youth, peer norms were directly related to alcohol use, and Marin et al (1997) found that heterosexual Latino men reported more condom use when they had strong condom social norms.…”

VIH/SIDA: Historia, biología y situación actual

“…Parece que la comunidad se acostumbró a las connotaciones de SIDA o VIH sin saber que todavía es una enfermedad latente y que no discrimina edad, sexo, raza o estatus económico. Según reportes de la CDC, en Estados Unidos la población que sobresale dentro de los nuevos infectados, es el hombre latino que tiene relaciones heterosexuales dentro de los 18 a 45 años, y esto está directamente relacionado con su negatividad de no usar preservativos (Harvey & Henderson, 2006;Knipper et al, 2007;De Santis, Valdés, Provencio-Vásquez & Gattamorta, 2015). Esta es una problemática que hay que abordar desde varios puntos de vista, empezando con la educación sexual en las aulas de clase.…”