ERPs Reveal Disengagement Processes Related to Condom Use Embarrassment in Intention-Behavior Inconsistent Young Adults

Abstract

The use of barrier protections such as condoms has consistently been reported to reduce the acquisition of sexually transmitted infections. However, it has also been reported that the association between condom use intentions and behavior is, at best, often weak. Furthermore, embarrassment associated with purchasing condoms and negotiating their use has been shown to negatively impact the frequency of condom use. Using electroencephalography to analyze P300 event-related potential components known to measure early attention allocation, we examined electrophysiological evidence of early attention disengagement for embarrassing health information. Forty young adults-34 females and six males-participated in an adapted version of Posner's visual cueing paradigm. All were high in intention to use condoms, but half were intention-behavior consistent and half were intention-behavior inconsistent. Compared to intention-behavior consistent participants, those with intention-behavior inconsistency showed a reduced P300 component when attending to a visual target opposite to the field in which embarrassing self-relevant health information was presented, indicating more efficient early attention disengagement from such embarrassing health information. In conclusion, our electrophysiological data suggest that high intention alone may be not sufficient to predict adolescents' condom use behavior.

<p>Barriers to Condom Use Among Female Sex Workers in Tehran, Iran: A Qualitative Study</p>

“…11 One of the most important ways to prevent the transmission of HIV in sexual relationships is the use of condoms. [12][13][14][15] However, there is much resistance to not using it, 16 with a prevalence of 0.42% reported among female sex workers. 4 Lack of condom use is affected by various personal, social, environmental, and cultural factors.…”

A practical review of electroencephalography’s value to consumer research

“…Along with identifying the types of marketing stimuli which evoke greater attentional responses, ERPs may provide insights to pressing consumer and marketing issues, such as the intention-behaviour gap (see Lim and Weissmann (2021) for review). For example, individuals who are high in intention for condom use but low in their actual condom use (intention-behaviour gap) show a reduced P300 amplitude to relevant health information in comparison to individuals who are intention-behaviour consistent (Brüll et al, 2019). This was suggested to indicate that individuals with an intention-behaviour gap are likely to disengage attentional processes to this health information.…”

Core Processes: How to Use Evidence, Theories, and Research in Planning Behavior Change Interventions

“…The second column in Table 1 presents the outcomes of the review on the evidence supporting the results of the brainstorm. The intervention planners identified empirical evidence for some issues related to unprotected sex that were not already brainstormed, for example not perceiving condoms as a means of pregnancy prevention ( 28 ) or perceiving condoms as embarrassing ( 29 , 30 ). The planning group also identified a number of studies that reported the relationship between unsafe sex and various theoretical constructs (listed in the third column): intention to use condoms and perceived norms ( 28 , 31 ) and self-efficacy in terms of negotiating and discussing condom use with partners ( 29 , 32 ).…”